We Should Not Be Quiet but We Should Talk’: Qualitative Accounts of CommunityBased Communication of HIV PreExposure Prophylaxis
Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Community leaders play an important role in the acceptance of public health services, but little is known about their
willingness to facilitate HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) roll-out in Eswatini. We conducted in-depth interviews (n = 25)
with purposefully selected male and female community leaders in Eswatini. We analysed our data inductively using a thematic
analysis approach. Community leaders feel they are important communicators of culturally appropriate PrEP messaging. Our
participants described a complex social space within their communities influenced by religion, tradition, values, and HIV
stigma. Community leaders use their position to provide leverage for unique, effective, and easily accessible messages and
platforms to reach the community in a manner that ensures trust, relatability, familiarity, and shared faith. Community leaders
feel that they are trusted and see trust manifesting in the conversations they are able to engage in, and have a reach that
extends beyond formal health services. Existing PrEP programming should embed community leader participation in PrEP
programming and engage the trust, knowledge, and potential of community leaders to support PrEP uptake and acceptance.
Description
Keywords
community leaders, PrEP, Eswatini, community-based communication, HIV prevention, qualitative research