The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #43424

Nancy Wongvipat, MPH¹, Matt Mutchler, PhD¹, and Lee Klosinski, PhD². (1) Education, AIDS Project Los Angeles, 611 S. Kingsley Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90005, (2) Programs, AIDS Project Los Angeles, 3550 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Given that only recently has attention and federal funding been placed on primary prevention efforts targeting HIV-positives persons, an insufficient amount of data is currently available on the effectiveness of these program efforts. In January 2001, AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) was awarded funding to develop a three-year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prevention For HIV-Infected Persons Program (PHIPP) national demonstration project in order to provide primary HIV prevention services to HIV-infected individuals in Los Angeles County. APLA’s prevention for positives program, called POWER (Positive Wellness & Renewal), provides Wellness Case Management (WCM) and Health Promotion Services (HPS) to individuals living with HIV/AIDS. WCM is a combination of traditional Ryan White care case management and client-centered risk reduction counseling that provides highly individualized and intensive support, while HPP complements WCM by providing prevention support at individual, group and community levels and to individuals who may not need individual case management. Creating and fostering a multi-level intervention approach to providing prevention services to HIV-infected individuals is a core ingredient to a successful prevention for positives program. The program development and implementation process follows a participatory action research model in which all stakeholders, including program staff and participants, continuously and actively participate in the shaping of the program, whereby fostering ownership and accountability. Processes of program development, challenges, successes, and lessons learned will be discussed. For example, a challenge has been in integrating prevention services with traditional case management services. Preliminary process and outcome evaluation data will also be presented.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participants in this session will be able to

• Describe the challenges and opportunities of utilizing a multi-level approach in implementing a prevention for positives program.
• Identify the key steps needed for effective prevention for positives program development.
• Assess the feasibility of utilizing a multi-level intervention approach to implementing a prevention for positives program in their agencies/jurisdictions.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, HIV Interventions

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employment (APLA), Grant (CDC)