Pre-testing of a didactic visual cue activity as part of cognitive behavioral intervention adapted (CBI-A) to categorize risky behaviors

Background:

A 5-year project funded by NIH/NIAAA with a focus on HIV education in Immokalee, Florida comparing the Health Promotion Comparison Condition (HPC) and the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention Adapted (CBI-A).The effects of an informative HIV risk reduction activity targeted to the Latino/African American migrant community. The “Is it Risky” game is implemented in order to increase awareness regarding the levels of risk associated with certain behaviors. The game is based upon principles of the Red Light Green Light Program . This game uses basic visual cues, similar to the principles of Operant Conditioning, to enhance the ability to recall information previously learned.

Methods:

Project staff will provide the game in a timed manner as they would do in the actual study to a focus group of 8 intervention participants. The participants are provided with an evaluating worksheet to assess the efficacy, appropriateness and acceptability of the activity based upon several principles which include: appeal, physical properties, organization, accuracy, simplicity, clarity, color appropriateness, and completeness.

Results:

The activity game is expected to appeal to the migrant workers and peer educators, and will be appropriate for those who are unable to comprehend written instructions. The activity is simple and easy to use and has the potential to efficiently increase participants' perception of HIV risk behaviors.

Conclusions:

The activity is expected to give a realistic understanding to researchers about the effects of visual cues on long-term behavior changes across various languages, education levels, and cultures. Results will be available at the time of presentation.