“Health Screenings for Life”: Comprehensive health screenings as a means of decreasing stigma associated with HIV testing

A 10-minute Healthy Lifestyle video was developed as a part of a pharmacy-based pilot intervention aimed at increasing uptake of HIV testing in high HIV prevalent neighborhoods in NYC. The intervention entailed viewing the Healthy Lifestyle video and provision of rapid HIV testing services packaged with other preventive screening services including blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol. The purpose of the intervention was to reduce HIV testing-related stigma among injection drug users (IDUs), their peers, and others residing in the target community. The study was conducted in a pharmacy setting given their increased accessibility to high-risk populations including multiple locations, long hours of operation, and their recent expanded role into public health activities (e.g., vaccinations, prevention screenings, and participation in non-prescription syringe access programs for IDUs). The educational video focused on the importance of prevention screenings including HIV testing to improve overall health. Scenarios were developed using characters based on our target population and focused on promoting HIV testing and knowing one's HIV status alongside the importance of being aware of hypertensive, diabetic, and hypercholesterolemic status. Real-life HIV-positive and chronic disease advocates were also portrayed to increase relevance and normalization of these health concerns. Efforts were taken to ensure the message was translatable to low literacy populations and filmed in both English and Spanish. The video plot and script were reviewed by community advisors, and professional and academic stakeholders including researchers, pharmacists, community-based organization representatives, community leaders, NYS Department of Health professionals, and physicians who had substantial experience working with IDUs and/or HIV positive populations. The video was also pilot tested in a focus group composed of members from our target population. Data evaluating the potential impact of the video revealed that among those who had HIV-related stigmatizing attitudes prior to viewing, 51.5% reported a decrease in stigmatizing attitudes after viewing.