Introduction There are approximately 185 adolescents living with HIV or AIDS in Baltimore City, Maryland. A disproportionate number of these youth are female and African American (Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene 1999). Getting adolescents to practice abstinence or safe sexual behaviors begins with education. Positive Voices! Positive Choices! is an HIV/AIDS prevention education program used within Baltimore City and County secondary and higher education classroom settings, and community based agencies that serve adolescents and their families.
Project To address the need for effective HIV/AIDS prevention education specific to adolescents and young adults, the Positive Voices! Positive Choices? Project provides an original skills based curriculum with customized classroom presentations and activities. A team of HIV positive men and women aged 25 to 55, and extensively trained to interact with adolescents in the classroom setting, deliver and personalize the curriculum. Decision making, refusal, delay, and negotiation of unsafe behaviors are introduced, demonstrated and practiced in a safe, non-judgmental environment. Risk assessments, role-play, scenario development and other interactive strategies are used. The curriculum content, and formative evaluation results are described.
Learning Objectives: Session attendees will: 1. List several components of an HIV/AIDS curriculum necessary to engage to adolescent attention and response. 2. Recognize the value of working with HIV Positive persons in prevention education 3. Develop an evaluation framework to measure program long and short term impact
Keywords: Adolescents, HIV/AIDS
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.