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Focusing on cultural understandings and misunderstandings among Latino gay and bisexual men as an approach to HIV prevention

Ross F. Conner, PhD, School of Social Ecology, Center for Community Health Research, University of California Irvine, Building SE 1, Irvine, CA 92697-7075, 949-824-6746, rfconner@uci.edu and Eduardo R. Archuleta, Center for Behavioral Research & Services, California State University, Long Beach, 1090 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90813.

Proyecto S.O.L.A.A.R. (Superacion, Orgullo y Lucha Atraves de Amor en Relaciones; Empowerment, Pride and Struggle through Love in Relationships) uses intensive retreats with small groups of Latino-culture gay/bisexual men to reduce HIV risk. The participants are primarily Spanish-speaking men born and raised in a Latino culture (mainly Mexico) but now living in the U.S. Due to the cultural realities of these men, who live with the pressures and mixed messages of two cultures (Latino and Anglo), the program creators developed an HIV-prevention program that focuses less on HIV education and more on the cultural conflicts and misunderstandings these men face in establishing healthy dating and personal relationships, including minimizing HIV/AIDS risks. This presentation will describe the program, its implementation and evaluation. The presentation will highlight how the program staff and evaluators worked with the participants to develop an innovative culturally-sensitive social marketing campaign for recruitment. This campaign features ads and images that a sample of participants specifically chose for its special appeal to Latino-culture gay/bisexual men.

Learning Objectives: Learning objectives for session attendees

Keywords: HIV Interventions, Latinos

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Grant funded research

HIV Epidemiology and Prevention for Gay and Bisexual Men

The 132nd Annual Meeting (November 6-10, 2004) of APHA