April 7-9, 2022 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Abstract: Addressing COVID-19 Misinformation and Resiliency among Latinos Living with HIV: Formative Research Findings
Introduction: Latino/a/x people living with HIV (PLWH) are disproportionately affected by physical comorbidities, which the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated with the introduction of a new a health risk. The indirect effects of mitigation strategies, including shelter-in-place orders and social distancing, combined with the media’s dissemination of misinformation may also interact synergistically to further worsen the already compromised mental health outcomes of PLWH. We propose that an intervention targeting individual resilience skill building and media literacy education could be mobilized to protect the mental health of Latinx PLWH as well as promote HIV care during the pandemic. Thus, the current study aims to develop and tailor intervention materials that enhance media literacy and resilience for Latinx PLWH. Method: Between June and August 2021, we conducted 27 in-depth, semi-structured interviews in English or Spanish. Participants consisted of (1) Latinx PLWH recruited from a local HIV clinic (n=12), as well as (2) community educators (n=10) and infectious disease providers (n=5) from two partner organizations who work with Latinx PLWH. Among PLWH (M=41.57; SD=8.81), approximately half of the identified as White (58%), heterosexual (58%), male (50%), and non-US-born (50%). Community educators and infectious disease providers worked with the PLWH community for an average of 11.00 years (8.14), and more than half identified as male (53%) and heterosexual (67%). Bilingual/bicultural interviewers asked about participants about media literacy, health literacy, mental health, resilient coping, and access to HIV care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Open and axial coding was used to develop and assign codes and themes to the transcribed interviewers. Results: We identified 68 codes related to the following primary themes (1) HIV care (n=27; 17% of comments), (2) media literacy (n=27; 30% of comments), and (3) resiliency (n=27; 53% of comments). Subthemes reflecting the experiences and challenges Latinx PLWH faced during the COVID-19 pandemic emerged from the coding process. Subthemes related to HIV care include (1.a.) COVID risk and concern and (1.b.) HIV care access and engagement. Emerging subthemes of media literacy included (2.a.) COVID information and beliefs, (2.b.) information sources, (2.c.) access, understanding, appraisal, and application of media, (2.d.) vaccine trust and hesitancy, (2.e.) sources for COVID-19 campaign, (2.f.) platform for delivering COVID-19 campaign, and (2.g.) messaging for COVID-19 campaign. The following themes reflected resiliency: (3.a.) changes to mental and behavioral health, (3.b.) coping skills and strategies, and (3.c.) resilience and adaptability. Discussion: The current study takes a community-engaged approach to articulating factors to enhance media literacy and resiliency, centering the voices of Latinx PLWH members and individuals who provide services to the Latinx PLWH community. Findings highlight key factors that need to be addressed and concrete, actionable suggestions in order to develop and deliver culturally relevant information strategies to improve Latino PLWH’s media literacy and resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research will guide intervention content using a social impact game digital platform. This is important in overcoming issues of health inequity, whereby Latino PLWH are impacted by HIV care, COVID, and vaccine disparities, yet underrepresented in current COVID-19 prevention strategies.