Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #113154

Clea C. Sarnquist, MPH and Yvonne A. Maldonado, MD. Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Cypress Hall E, 550 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305, 650-736-0636, cleas@stanford.edu

Issues: HIV prevention images and messages must be culturally appropriate and targeted, however, the process of creating such materials is often difficult and expensive. Description: This paper is an example of a community and health department collaboration aimed at engaging the target audience to create inexpensive, culturally appropriate social marketing materials. Specifically, high-risk teenagers participated in a HIV prevention educational session and were then invited them to submit HIV prevention artwork to a contest. The education session was evaluated with pre- and post-tests. This intervention was created, and artwork was judged, by a diverse coalition of community leaders and HIV prevention experts, including community-based organizations, hospitals, county healthcare workers, health insurance plans, and an arts coalition who meet quarterly over a two year period. The winning art was used on a variety of social marketing materials. Lessons learned: Appropriate social marketing materials were created inexpensively and relatively quickly. In addition, the high-risk teens who attended the educational sessions showed considerable improvement on both knowledge and behavior scales as a result of the session, with as much as a 50% increase in knowledge on some post-test questions. There were also unanticipated benefits; for example the art contest awards ceremony was well-attended by the press, so the media spread the prevention messages before the social marketing campaign was even launched. Recommendation: This collaborative intervention may serve as a best practice model for others who are attempting to create effective, inexpensive social marketing materials while creatively engaging the community in HIV prevention efforts.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, each participant should be able to

• describe methods for engaging the community in creating prevention interventions,
• identify how a similar community advisory group, and possibly intervention, could work in their community, and
• create and implement pre/post-test evaluations of public health educational interventions.

Keywords: Community Collaboration, Prevention

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.

Recorded presentation