Condoms, catwalks and communication: A creative sexual health promotion program for college students

College students are often overlooked when it comes to HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention. According to data collected from 1258 students at the University of South Carolina (USC) during the spring of 2006, 74% reported having one or more sex partners during the past year; 27% had two or more partners. However, significantly fewer students used a condom the last time they engaged in vaginal (51%) or anal (25%) sex. The rise in use of technology, especially YouTube and online social networking sites, as well as living in an entertainment driven youth society has required college health professionals to find new strategies for making education programs more accessible, exciting and marketable to the MySpace (Y) and Google (Z) generations. In order to increase condom use and promote responsible sexual behaviors among USC students, Project CONDOM, an educational program/condom fashion show based on the popular reality television show “Project RUNWAY” was created. Student teams competed on the runway with garments they created from donated condoms, along with corresponding sexual health promotion messages. Winning garments from Project CONDOM have been displayed at international, national, and state conferences. This session will describe the process involved in the development of Project CONDOM, including assessment procedures, conceptual framework and communication strategies used to market the program, as well as the evolution of the program over the past three years. Additionally, this session will provide suggestions and recommendations for how other colleges and universities can adapt, tailor and/or replicate the program on their campus.