Getting HIV Self-Test Kits into the Home for Young African American MSM in Los Angeles: A Qualitative Report.
Joseph Daniels, Robert Marlin, Alex Medline and 5 others
PMID 29239823WHAT IT FOUND
Trusted community leaders could make HIV self-test kits at home more acceptable for young African American men who have sex with men by building trust and helping families understand it.
Fear of family discovery and stigma remained major barriers.
Key findings
01Participants said community leaders could make HIV self-testing more trusted and less stigmatized by using culturally familiar messaging and relationships.
02A major barrier was worry that family members would discover the self-test kit at home.
03Participants saw community leaders as possible brokers who could explain a positive result or a discovered kit to families.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included only 21 English-speaking African American men aged 18 to 35 recruited from one Los Angeles community organization. The authors state the results are not generalizable to all African American men who have sex with men in Los Angeles County. The study reported perceptions about HIV self-testing, not measured testing uptake or HIV outcomes. The two-step community and family pathway is a proposed explanation and needs confirmation in further research.
Declared interests
Publication types list NIH extramural research support. The authors report no real or perceived vested interests that could be construed as a conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that HIV self-test kits or community-leader promotion increase testing. It is a qualitative report of 21 men's perceptions, not a trial of outcomes.