The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #63124

Wendy Santis, MS, Michael J. Rosati, MA, MEd, Cheryl J Vince Whitman, EdM, Robin Franz, BA, and Scott G. Pulizzi, MA. Health and Human Development Programs, Education Development Center, Inc., 55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA 02458, 617-618-2427, wsantis@edc.org

Purpose: In 2001, over half of the 5 million new HIV infections around the world were in youth ages 15-24. Studies demonstrate that the workplace can serve as an effective setting for HIV prevention, voluntary counseling, treatment, and care for employees and their families. Health and Human Development Programs, a division of Education Development Center, developed a set of skill-building exercises to address HIV/AIDS and youth employment as part of EDC’s Youth Employment Summit in Alexandria, Egypt, an event which brought together 2,000 youth advocates, government agencies, NGOs, and businesses from 120 countries.

Methods: Activities included: 1) advocacy exercises on defeating stigma and discrimination, protecting the human rights and employment of people with HIV/AIDS, the importance of corporate policies,prevention and treatment programs, and investing in HIV/AIDS prevention education and care for youth groups and NGOs; 2) a true/false quiz on the HIV/AIDS problem; 3) distribution of a background paper on HIV/AIDS and sources of information on HIV/AIDS prevention, screening, and care related to employment; and 4) developing an action step that young people can take to combat HIV/AIDS in the work arena.

Major results: Using this participatory methodology, youth advocates increased their knowledge of HIV/AIDS, gained an understanding of HIV in the workplace, and developed skills to advocate for prevention, voluntary counseling and treatment.

Recommendations: These modules are a useful tool for enhancing not only the capacity of young people, but also NGOs, governments and business partners to play a leadership role in stemming the disease’s catastrophic effects.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to:
• Articulate a rationale for using an advocacy approach to promote HIV services in the workplace
• List specific advocacy activities that can be used to promote the workplace as an effective setting for HIV prevention, voluntary counseling, and treatment and care to employees and their families
• Describe the special considerations that must be taken into account to use these materials to prepare young people as HIV advocates.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Workforce

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.