Comprehensive Communication for a Syndemic Approach to HIV Care: A Framework for Enhancing Health Communication Messages for People Living with HIV

Sarah E. Sheff (), Vanessa Boudewyns, Jocelyn Coleman Taylor, Hannah Getachew-Smith, Nivedita L. Bhushan and Jennifer D. Uhrig
Additional contact information
Sarah E. Sheff: RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Vanessa Boudewyns: RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Jocelyn Coleman Taylor: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
Hannah Getachew-Smith: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
Nivedita L. Bhushan: RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Jennifer D. Uhrig: RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: Despite the increasing adoption of a syndemic approach in HIV research, few health communication campaigns have used a syndemic approach in messaging to improve health outcomes for persons living with HIV (PWH). This paper introduces a framework for practitioners and researchers developing health communication messages in support of a syndemic approach to HIV care for PWH in the United States. Grounded in insights from a review of counseling and psychosocial interventions that demonstrated significant positive effects on HIV clinical outcomes, the C4H Framework emphasizes four components: compassion, comprehensive messaging, capacity-building, and coordination. Compassion ensures that messages resonate with individuals experiencing the intertwined challenges of HIV, substance abuse, and mental health issues. Comprehensive messaging integrates a holistic view of the barriers faced by PWH. Capacity-building empowers individuals to effectively engage with and act upon health information. Coordination promotes alignment between stakeholders and resources to ensure consistent and supportive messaging. The C4H Framework bridges the gap between research and practice, offering a foundation for crafting effective communication messages that resonate with individuals facing the complex challenges inherent in HIV syndemics. Future research should explicitly test the effectiveness and acceptability of messages developed using the C4H Framework with people living with HIV.

Keywords: syndemic; HIV care; health communication; framework (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/8/1231/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/8/1231/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:8:p:1231-:d:1719437

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().