Client-centered means listening.

Listening means we can design programs that meet men where they are—physically and emotionally.

anna circle

"Being client-centered means engaging men in a way that is meaningful to them. Johnson & Johnson is proud to bring our long history and expertise in consumer insights and marketing to help find and treat more young, asymptomatic men. Being consumer- and patient-centered is at the very core of who we are. We are leveraging our culture and capabilities to ensure MenStar strategy, programs, and demand-generation activities consistently connect with the men we need to reach to break the cycle of infection."

Anna Caravaggio

Global Head Consumer-Centered Strategy and Innovation, Global Public Health, Johnson & Johnson

What Men Told Us

Men do not show their true anxieties in the clinic...

MenStar innovations are informed by research funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Maverick Collective, via a project called “Breaking the Cycle of Transmission: Increasing Uptake of HIV Testing, Prevention, and Linkage to Treatment Among Young Men in South Africa.” What we learned is that men put on a mask. Of toughness. Even of indifference.

What Men Told Us

... and so, clinicians often do not connect with men.

Clinicians see this outer face. They are not trained to know that there is great vulnerability beneath the mask.

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2,200 conversations in South Africa alone

What Men Say

When I first heard of HIV it was the scariest disease that anyone can think of. It was even scarier than cancer.
Man, 25
Frequent tester
I was terrified. I was not ashamed or embarrassed, I was just terrified.
Man, 28
Infrequent tester
[Testing] was tough, really tough. I actually felt like I was in a dark forest. I was numb with fear, I can’t lie to you. Until the sister said that I am negative, that is when I was free.
Man, 28
Frequent tester
My father died of HIV. It really devastated me. I was very close to him.
Man, 27, HIV+
Not Linked
I do not take medication at all right now, I fear medication. When I have a cold, I struggle to finish my medication. I need reminders until I get used to it. I am battling by myself if I give in to the pills will I be able to take them daily?
Man, 27, HIV+
Not Linked
I lost people who died from AIDS. I’ve only just realised now that my mother died from an illness and I believe it was not just TB, it was AIDS. My uncle also died with exactly the same illness as my mum. I think he also died of AIDS…I think the family were trying to hide it from us.
Man, 28
Never Tested

Watch

Watch the Frank Dialogues film

Created by Jhpiego, PSI and Dogs on the Run, this film shows first hand what men experience with the health system.

The Approach

Download PEPFAR's Client-Centered HIV Services Fact Sheet.