Brown ML, Ford PJ; National HIV Prevention Conference (1999 : Atlanta, Ga.).
Abstr Search Tools 1999 Natl HIV Prev Conf Natl HIV Prev Conf 1999 Atlanta Ga. 1999 Aug 29-Sep 1; (abstract no. 488).
Children's Diagnostic and Treatment Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Fax: (954) 760-7798.
ISSUE: The adolescent population, specifically minority and gay youth, was identified as a priority population in the 1997 Broward County HIV Prevention Plan by the Broward Community Planning Partnership (BCPP). The Adolescent Committee (BCPP) identified a health education/risk reduction intervention with a skills-building component as a priority in reaching youth outside of the conservative school climate. Members of the Adolescent Committee designed workshops because other workshop curriculums were not congruent with the intervention goals. SETTING: The YP2K workshops were conducted in Broward County in a variety of venues to target a range of adolescents at risk for HIV infection. To target minority adolescents, workshops were conducted at several area parks in African-American communities, Dillard High School, Think Life Teen Center, and two alternative youth detention centers. Workshops for gay youth were conducted at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center. PROJECT: The Adolescent Committee (BCPP) participants developed the components of the YP2K workshops as well as the standardized training manual which guides the implementation of the workshop series. The series contains six sessions: Workshop #1 focuses on personal goals and choices; Workshop #2 focuses on negotiation skills and resisting pressure; Workshop #3 deals with self-esteem; Workshop #4 focuses on decision-making and risk-taking; Workshop #5 was based on developing positive peer interactions; and Workshop #6, "HIV/AIDS and Safer Sex." Funding for this project was obtained through a collaboration between the Broward Community Planning Partnership and the Community Foundation of Broward. The workshops were presented by six different community agencies. RESULTS: The collaborative group conducted nine workshop series in Broward County with 111 youth between the ages of 9 and 20. These youth attended the 6-week workshop series and received an incentive/gift for their participation after each session. Youth completed pre-tests and post-tests about knowledge, skills, and behaviors. These pre/post tests have yet to be evaluated. LESSONS LEARNED: The complexities of collaboration between multiple agencies was experienced. Some of these issues were due to funding issues and staff turnover. However, new relationships and better communication efforts were also experienced. Having two facilitators worked better than one person working alone. Youth expressed a desire to have HIV-positive co- facilitators. The youth responded more favorably and exhibited more "buy in" when the co-facilitator had attributes similar to them (race, age, behaviors). The strongest indicator that this intervention was initially successful is that the youth returned to participate in the workshop series.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Adolescent
- Behavior
- Demography
- Drive
- Female
- HIV Infections
- Health Education
- Health Planning
- Homosexuality
- Humans
- Male
- Personality
- Population
- Risk-Taking
- School Health Services
- Teaching
- education
Other ID:
UI: 102187682
From Meeting Abstracts