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[Announcer] This podcast is presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC - safer, healthier people.

[Dr. Anderson] Welcome to this edition of CDC’s Health Marketing Matters. I’m your host, Dr. John Anderton. My guest today is Dr. Charles Collins, Section Chief of the Science Application Team in the Capacity Building Branch of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at CDC. Dr. Collins’ team of 11 behavioral scientists are responsible for the national dissemination of evidence-based behavioral interventions into HIV prevention public health practice. Dr. Collins, welcome to Health Marketing Matters.

[Dr. Collins] Thank you very much for having me.

[Dr. Anderton] Dr. Collins, I understand that the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention has initiated the DEBI project. What exactly is the DEBI project?

[Dr. Collins] DEBI stands for Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions. It’s a project that distributes resource materials, training, and technical assistance to community-based organizations and health departments on evidence-based HIV prevention behavioral interventions.

[Dr. Anderson] How does an intervention become a DEBI then?

[Dr. Collins] The Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention has identified those behavioral interventions with the strongest evidence that facilitate HIV risk behavior change. These are evidence-based interventions that can potentially assist community-based organizations and health departments with providing HIV prevention services that are most likely to bring about changes in HIV risk behavior.

[Dr. Anderson] What do you mean by DEBI resource materials?

[Dr. Collins] These interventions have been packaged in such a way that they can be easily used by community-based prevention providers and health departments. Implementation manuals, technical assistance guides, lesson plans and other intervention materials are made available to HIV prevention providers.

[Dr. Anderson] Is training on the DEBI packages needed and available?

[Dr. Collins] Yes. Community-based organizations and health departments are encouraged to participate in training to learn how to implement the interventions. When they attend a training, they’re given the DEBI package to take home and implement. Training can be accessed through our website: www.effectiveinterventions.org.

[Dr. Anderson] Is technical assistance on the DEBI packages also needed and available?

[Dr. Collins] Yes. We offer technical assistance on the DEBI packages through our Capacity Building Assistance Program. This service is available to those agencies that have attended DEBI training.

[Dr. Anderson] What are the advantages of using a DEBI?

[Dr. Collins] Many agencies can not afford to hire behavioral scientists and evaluators to help them design, implement, and assess an HIV prevention intervention. These DEBI packages assist HIV prevention providers in delivering evidence-based interventions to at-risk communities using materials that have been tested and shown to change risk behaviors.

[Dr. Anderson] Are the DEBIs culturally appropriate?

[Dr. Collins] Yes. These interventions have been tested with a broad range of racial and ethnic populations. Some of these interventions are targeted for women. Some are targeted for men who have sex with men. The implementing agencies can adapt these interventions to reach at-risk persons within their own communities.

[Dr. Anderson] Tell us a little more about the health marketing strategy for the DEBIs?

[Dr. Collins] We want to market the DEBI interventions to health departments and HIV prevention organizations across the United States. We hope they will try these evidence-based interventions with persons who are at risk for HIV infection. Our marketing strategy includes distribution of information about the interventions, as well as resources and materials that prevention agencies can try out in their communities. Health departments and community-based organizations that provide HIV prevention are our customers and we try to develop products that our customers want and will use.

[Dr. Anderson] How can interested persons learn more about the DEBIs?

[Dr. Collins] www.effectiveinterventions.org has multiple resources and information that can be easily accessed.

[Dr. Anderson] Thank you, Dr. Collins, for talking with us about the DEBI prevention resources available to prevention providers; I’ve enjoyed speaking with you. For more information on health marketing, call 1-800-CDC-INFO or visit www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing. We want to hear your thoughts about this podcast. Please email us at NCHMInfo@cdc.gov. If you have any additional questions or comments that you would like to share with Dr. Charles Collins about the DEBI, please email him at ccollins1@cdc.gov. Thank you for joining us on Health Marketing Matters.

[Announcer] To access the most accurate and relevant health information that affects you, your family and your community, please visit www.cdc.gov.