Taking It to the Pews: Developing and implementing a church-based HIV education and prevention tool kit

African Americans represent 13% of the US population, yet they account for 50% of new HIV infections. African American churches are powerful institutions that have direct, ongoing contact with the Black community. However, few HIV education-prevention approaches have been developed for Black churches. Taking It to the Pews (TIPS) is a mobilization initiative which engages African American churches in delivering a user-friendly, culturally-religiously-tailored HIV education-prevention Tool Kit with church and community members. We developed the Tool Kit to increase church capacity to reach these members through natural church activities. To identify these activities and needed Tool Kit materials, a nationwide sample of church leaders (N=121) was surveyed on organizational characteristics, ministries, and outreach activities of their African American churches. Survey findings indicated their churches primarily had: a) three services per week (Sunday morning, Sunday School, Wednesday night); b) multiple communication modes (e.g., pulpit pastoral sermons/comments, responsive readings, bulletin boards); c) ministries for various groups (e.g., youth, singles, couples); and d) several outreach activities (e.g., food, health, school programs). Few of their churches had participated in HIV education-prevention activities. Interviews and focus groups with African American church members provided feedback on the culturally-religiously appropriateness of Tool Kit materials, which included: pastoral materials/activities for church services (sermon and comments guides, procedures to model receiving an HIV test); churchwide educational materials (responsive readings, bulletin boards, brochures); and ministry and outreach group materials (HIV Jeopardy game, discussion guides). Tool Kit implementation findings from 12 churches participating in the TIPS initiative will also be presented.