Recruitment Strategies to Engage African American Men in HIV Testing Randomized Controlled Trials in the Rural Southern United States Emma J. Brown, RN, PhD, FAAN Peter Thomas, PhD, MPH Leigh A. Willis, PhD, MPH Madeline Y. Sutton, MD, MPH Of the estimated 1.1 million Americans living with HIV infection, about 18% are unaware of their infec- tion (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012). Routine HIV testing can facilitate early diagnosis and linkage to care for persons who may be unaware of their infection, thereby decreasing unintended ongoing HIV transmission (CDC, 2011; Hall, Holtgrave & Maulsby, 2012). African Americans, especially men, are disproportionately represented among both persons living with HIV and persons unaware of their infection (CDC, 2013). Increased HIV testing efforts are vital, and routine HIV testing has been recommended by the CDC and the United States Preventive Services Task Force (CDC, 2006; Chou et al., 2012). For many African Americans in the southern United States, the challenges of HIV-related stigma, racism, and distrust (both historical and institutional), poverty, and decreased health care access often make seeking and utilizing routine HIV testing and/or care at traditional health venues a challenge, especially in rural areas (Adimora, Ramirez, Schoenbach, & Cohen, 2014; Prejean, Tang, & Hall, 2013). In rural northern Florida, where African Americans are disproportionately affected by high rates of HIV (Figure 1), conducting research to better understand how to best develop and deliver HIV services is a vital part of reducing the burden of HIV. Community-based testing approaches that bring services to people where they live, work, and play could increase HIV testing of at-risk populations in the rural south. Research is needed to identify effective means of increasing HIV testing among southern rural African American men as part of our national HIV prevention strategy (Office of National AIDS Policy, 2010). Historically, recruiting African Americans into research studies, including randomized controlled trials, has been a challenge for reasons including distrust of researchers and the research process, geographical distance from research sites, time constraints, and fear of being stigmatized (Corbie- Smith, Thomas, Williams, & Moody-Ayers, 1999; Polanco et al., 2011). Recruitment of certain subpopulations, such as African American men and residents of rural areas, into HIV prevention Emma J. Brown, RN, PhD, FAAN, is the Founder and a Senior Researcher, Coalition for Health and Advocacy for Rural Minorities (CHARM), Inc., Lake City, Florida, USA. Peter Thomas, PhD, MPH, and Leigh A. Willis, PhD, MPH, are behavioral scientists, Division of HIV/ AIDS Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tion, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Madeline Y. Sutton, MD, MPH, is a medical epidemiologist, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF NURSES IN AIDS CARE, Vol. 25, No. 6, November/December 2014, 670-674 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jana.2014.06.006 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Association of Nurses in AIDS Care