This study will examine methods for involving local community members in programs to teach urban youth about how to prevent transmission of HIV.
HIV is a sexually transmitted virus that damages or destroys a body's immune system. When the infection progresses to its later stages, AIDS can develop. Several programs have been developed for educating adolescents about how to prevent HIV transmission. Preventing infection is particularly important because there is not yet a way to cure HIV. This study will examine the processes needed to train community members to deliver HIV prevention programs to urban youth. This study has three steps. In Step 1, an existing group of urban community members who have already delivered the Be Proud! Be Responsible! HIV prevention program will be invited to serve as mentors for new HIV educators in the community. Participants in this step will complete self-administered assessments of their willingness to collaborate with university-based researchers, their confidence in skills necessary for collaborative projects, and any foreseeable obstacles to participation. The goal of this step is to examine the response over time to ongoing HIV leadership. In Step 2, parents from the targeted community will be recruited and trained in HIV prevention programs. They will be randomly assigned to one of three programs: Becoming a Responsible Teen, Be Proud! Be Responsible!, and Reducing the Risk. All three of these programs involve group meetings with adolescents to discuss puberty, sexuality, communication, self-esteem, HIV/AIDS, and setting and achieving goals and dreams. Participants in this phase will undergo the same assessments as those in Step 1. In Step 3, the parents trained in Step 2 will be randomly assigned to a middle school or high school where they will deliver the program in which they were trained. Randomly selected adolescent participants from these schools will be assigned to whichever program is being offered at their school. All three prevention programs will include four to six sessions over 4 to 6 weeks. Adolescent participants will be required to complete interviews and questionnaires when they enter the study, after 3 months, and after 15 months. These interviews and questionnaires will measure HIV/AIDS knowledge, self-esteem, intention to protect health, and engagement in risk-taking behaviors. Parent participants in Step 3 will repeat the assessments from Steps 1 and 2 before and after delivering their prevention curriculums.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
901
This intervention consists of highly structured modules that involve group discussions, videos, games, brainstorming, experiential exercises, and skill building activities. The program encourages participants to be proud of themselves and their community, to behave responsibly for themselves and their community, and to consider their goals for the future and how risk behaviors may interfere with the attainment of their goals.
This program consists of highly structured modules administered using intervention manuals in community-based settings. Each intervention session involves group discussion, videos, games, presentations, demonstrations, role plays, and practice. Youth learn problem solving, decision-making, communication, condom negotiation and use skills, and behavioral self-management. Youth also meet with HIV infected peers to promote risk recognition and improve their perception of vulnerability.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York, New York, United States
Youth sexual risk behaviors
Measured at baseline, after 3 to 4 months, and after 15 months
Time frame: Measured at baseline
Youth sexual risk behaviors
Measured at baseline, after 3 to 4 months, and after 15 months
Time frame: Measured after 3 to 4 months
Youth sexual risk behaviors
Measured at baseline, after 3 to 4 months, and after 15 months
Time frame: Measured after 15 months
HIV educators' intentions to collaborate
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at baseline
HIV educators' intentions to collaborate
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at post-intervention
HIV educators' intentions to collaborate
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at 3-month follow-up
HIV educators' intentions to collaborate
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at 15-month follow-up
Collaboration by HIV educators
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at baseline
Collaboration by HIV educators
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.
This program consists of instruction on developing social skills to reduce sexual risk-taking behavior and role plays to practice and model skills. Additional activities-such as teaching decision making and assertive communication skills, offering encouragement to obtain relevant health information from stores and clinics, and asking parents about their views on abstinence and birth control-support the premise that students should avoid unprotected intercourse, either by remaining abstinent or using contraceptives.
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at post-intervention
Collaboration by HIV educators
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at 3-month follow-up
Collaboration by HIV educators
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at 15-month follow-up
Youth sexual behavior
Measured at baseline, after 3 to 4 months, and after 15 months
Time frame: Measured at baseline
Youth sexual behavior
Measured at baseline, after 3 to 4 months, and after 15 months
Time frame: Measured after 3 to 4 months
Youth sexual behavior
Measured at baseline, after 3 to 4 months, and after 15 months
Time frame: Measured after 15 months
Youth negotiation of sexual risk situations
Measured at baseline, after 3 to 4 months, and after 15 months
Time frame: Measured at baseline
Youth negotiation of sexual risk situations
Measured at baseline, after 3 to 4 months, and after 15 months
Time frame: Measured after 3 to 4 months
Youth negotiation of sexual risk situations
Measured at baseline, after 3 to 4 months, and after 15 months
Time frame: Measured after 15 months
Leadership skills of HIV educators
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at baseline
Leadership skills of HIV educators
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at post-intervention
Leadership skills of HIV educators
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at 3-month follow-up
Leadership skills of HIV educators
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at 15-month follow-up
HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes of educators and youth
Measured at baseline, after 3 to 4 months, and after 15 months
Time frame: Measured at baseline
HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes of educators and youth
Measured at baseline, after 3 to 4 months, and after 15 months
Time frame: Measured after 3 to 4 months
HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes of educators and youth
Measured at baseline, after 3 to 4 months, and after 15 months
Time frame: Measured after 15 months
Self-esteem and self-efficacy of HIV educators
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at baseline
Self-esteem and self-efficacy of HIV educators
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at post-intervention
Self-esteem and self-efficacy of HIV educators
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at 3-month follow-up
Self-esteem and self-efficacy of HIV educators
Measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 15-month follow-ups
Time frame: Measured at 15-month follow-up