Adebola Odunlami, BS, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan, 109 S. Observatory Room, RM 4164, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, (734) 709 2369, aodunlam@umich.edu and Ella Greene-Moton, Health Awareness Center/Flint Odyssey House Inc., 1225 Martin Luther King Avenue, Flint, MI 48503.

In 2003, there were 1730 cases of HIV among adolescents between the ages of 13 and 24 in Michigan. The Flint Odyssey House Health Awareness Center (HAC) and the University of Michigan School of Public Health (UM-SPH) partnered to develop a theory-driven cultural- and age-appropriate HIV/AIDS intervention aimed at reducing risky sexual behaviors among African-American adolescents in Flint. A graduate student from UM-SPH (Ruth Mott Scholar) worked with five high school students from Flint (Ruth Mott Explorers) to develop innovative approaches to HIV/AIDS education. Combining aspects of the Health Belief Model such as perceived threat and self efficacy, with drama and music, a mime troupe was created and piloted with eighty-two adolescents between the ages of 13 and 24 who were recruited from civic and community-based organizations. The youth were divided into control and intervention groups, and a health education curriculum was presented to the control group, while the mime was presented to the intervention group. Pre- and post-test questionnaires were used to assess changes in knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about HIV/AIDS. Preliminary results show that participants in the mime group were more engaged and asked more questions. Data gathered from this project will be used to further develop and test the mime intervention.

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