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American Public Health Association
133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition
December 10-14, 2005
Philadelphia, PA
APHA 2005
 
3374.0: Monday, December 12, 2005 - 5:00 PM

Abstract #107812

Knowledge, attitude & behavior change in an evidence-based club drug intervention for gay men

Lee M. Kochems, MA1, Jon P. Mechling, AA1, Dennis G. Fisher, PhD1, Adi Jaffe, BA1, Vincent Del Casino, PhD2, and Jose Luis O. Guzman, CHW1. (1) Center for Behavioral Research & Services, California State University, Long Beach, 1090 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90813, 562-495-2330, adijaffe@hotmail.com, (2) Department of Geography, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90840

Objective: To describe a new instrument that measures Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavioral (KAB) intentions among program participants in a club drug intervention. Methods: Ninety-two gay and other men-who-have-sex–with-men (MSM) participants were enrolled in a two-session intervention consisting of an individual counseling session plus one group session. Participating men were pre- and post-tested to measure changes in KAB. A 3-month follow-up was conducted to measure maintenance of KAB change. Findings: Differences on KAB scores between session 1 and 2 showed a significant increase in knowledge related to club drug information and use. Participants (n=37) showed an average increase of seven (7) points on a scale ranging from 1 to 86 at post-test. Attitudes moved in a positive direction (mean increase of 1.69) at post-test. Participants' behavioral intention indicated less willingness to engage in risky behaviors both immediately after the intervention, at post-test (mean change of 10.17, t(22)=3.1, p=.005) and follow-up (mean change of 4.9). Conclusion: 1). This evidence-based club drug intervention for gay and other MSM effectively changed participants' knowledge, attitudes and behavioral intentions. We discuss how reinforcement and rumination may contribute to a positive change in KAB results. 2).The KAB instrument successfully measures changes in KAB scores.

Learning Objectives:

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

ATOD Within LGBT Populations

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA