Welcome to the Project START home page.

Project START was a multi-site research study comparing the efficacy of 2 HIV, STD, and hepatitis prevention interventions focused on young men recently released from prison. The project was conducted in 1 state prison in Rhode Island, 1 in Mississippi, 1 in California, and in 5 state prisons in Wisconsin (where a smaller population of eligible men were released each month). Participants were enrolled during their incarceration and systematically assigned to 1 of 2 intervention conditions on the basis of the month of recruitment (California, Rhode Island) or anticipated release date (Mississippi, Wisconsin). Participants were then contacted in the community for 6 months after their release.

Project START demonstrated that a multi-session, community reentry intervention can lead to lower rates of sexual risk behavior among young men who are released from prison. Significantly lower rates of unprotected intercourse were observed at 24 weeks after release from custody for men assigned to the enhanced intervention compared to those assigned to the single session intervention.

An intervention package is currently being developed for Project START with funding from CDC’s Replicating Effective Programs (REP). More information on this activity will be available soon.

We hope that you find the information on this site useful. Additional information and updates will be made routinely. If you have a specific question concerning the study, click on Tools and Resources for a list of project investigators. Thank you for your interest in the study.