Enhancing Cardiovascular Health in Southeastern United States for Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Minorities With HIV: A Qualitative Inquiry Using the Health Belief Model.
Charles Muiruri, Carrie Dombeck, Amy Corneli and 13 others
PMID 40728223WHAT IT FOUND
People living with HIV and heart disease or risk factors linked family history, high blood pressure, diabetes, and HIV to higher perceived cardiac risk.
They said cost, transportation, time, work, and clinic access made healthier eating, exercise, and specialty care harder.
Key findings
01Participants connected family history and comorbidities such as high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney failure, and HIV to higher perceived risk.
02Most participants said feeling better, being more active, and maintaining cognitive function were important benefits of heart health.
03Barriers included food cost, transportation, time, and difficulty accessing specialty care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a qualitative study of 27 participants from three academic medical centers in the Southern United States, so the views may not match other regions, health systems, or populations. Interviews were conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the authors note pandemic effects on perceived risk were not studied. Participants may have answered in socially desirable ways. The analysis used the Health Belief Model, which the authors say focuses on individual beliefs and may miss broader social and systemic influences. The study interviewed three fewer participants than the stated goal, though the authors judged the data sufficient for the aim. Because it is qualitative, it describes perceptions and barriers, not effects of any treatment or prevention program.
Declared interests
One author served on an advisory board for Esperion Therapeutics and received research funding from Gilead Sciences. The other authors reported no real or perceived vested interests related to the article.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that patient education or counseling reduces cardiovascular events. The study describes perceptions and barriers from 27 patients and tested no intervention.