Narrative experiences of interactions with pharmacists among African-born persons living with HIV: “It's mostly business.

African-born persons constitute 1% of the total Minnesota population, yet 24% of new HIV infections occurred in this population in 2016. Furthermore, 32% of the African born persons living with HIV [PLWH] did not check their CD4 counts or viral load in 2018. Little is known of the role of pharmacists in antiretroviral (ARV) management in the PLWH of African origin. This study aimed to describe the experiences of African-born PLWH in their interactions with pharmacists and perceptions of pharmacists’ roles in fostering adherence to ARV therapy. A qualitative approach was used for this study. Recruitment via fliers for in-person interviews with African-born PLWH in Minnesota continued until saturation was achieved. Narrative Interviews with 14 participants lasting up to 2 h were conducted over five months. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim by a professional transcription service. Conventional Content Analysis was used to analyze the data. Three themes emerged from analyzed data “Interaction with the pharmacists,” “Revealing the diagnosis to a pharmacist,” and “Lack of disclosure of HIV status to a pharmacist.“ The participants referred to the interaction with pharmacists as a “business” or “transactional interaction.” To better understand the interaction between pharmacists and PLWH of African-born, future studies could benefit from interviewing pharmacists from different practice settings. Although these participants now live in the U.S., they tend to keep their diagnosis secret. Some of the participants might not reveal it to a pharmacist when purchasing OTC medications. The lack of disclosure of their diagnosis has implications for treatment outcomes. Culturally appropriate care may be a way to build trust with PLWH of African origin so that they may feel more comfortable in consulting with pharmacists to help improve their care and outcomes.