239530 Case Study: The RISE Program

Saturday, October 29, 2011: 1:30 PM

Quinn Gentry, MBA, PhD , Urban Health Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
The institute participants will learn how to apply black feminist theory in gender-specific interventions through a case study known as the RISE Program, which is an integrated approach to HIV prevention education for survivors of intimate partner violence. RISE is an acronym: Reaching and Intervening with Survivors Effectively. With nearly 280,000 women living with HIV/AIDS today and an estimated three million women being abused by their husbands or boyfriends each year, it is imperative that service organizations address both of these critical issues. The RISE Program seeks to bridge the gap between these social and health epidemics in the lives of women. In an effort to reach diverse survivors of violence where they are, the RISE Program focuses on agencies with a direct mission to serve women experiencing intimate partner violence, but we also include agencies serving women who are homeless or coping with substance abuse as our formative research indicates that many women facing these social issues are at greater risks for HIV and violence.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. The RISE Program aims to build collaborative partnerships among domestic violence service providers, related social service providers, and HIV prevention educators in a way that empowers female survivors of domestic violence to: (1) increase their knowledge about their risk for HIV, (2) commit to HIV testing and counseling, and (3) strengthen their ability to set safer sex goals.

THE SENSITIVITY TRAINING CURRICULUM. The RISE Program implements a sensitivity training where agency staff participate in a customized session with four primary objectives: (1) introduce black feminism as a gender specific approach to service provision, (2) explain the ways in which women who experience intimate partner violence are even more vulnerable for HIV infection, (3) learn about promising practices for integrating HIV prevention intervention within intimate partner violence services, and (4) explore opportunities to implement the group-level and individual-level components of the RISE Program.

THE GROUP-LEVEL HIV PREVENTION EDUCATION CURRICULUM. The Healthy Love Party Workshop (HLPW) is a gender-specific, group-level HIV prevention education for self-identified heterosexual women of African-descent, who are at high-risk for STD/HIV infection and transmission. The HLPW is presented in three components where participants are engaged via: (1) setting the tone, of sexual discussions (2) learning the facts about HIV/STDs, and (3) having an opportunity to skill build playing “safer sex” games. These three components comprise 11 different exercises including: (a) Fantasy Name, (b) Synonyms, (c) HIV/AIDS Fundamentals, (d) Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), (e) The Look of HIV/AIDS, (f) Risk Assessment, (g) Condom Demonstration (h) Condom Race, (i) Female Condom Demonstration, (j) Oral Sex, High, (k) Low, No Risk

THE INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL HIV PREVENTION EDUCATION CURRICULUM. The RISE individual-level intervention was developed by Dr. Quinn M. Gentry, and is grounded in black feminist theory as a gender-responsive approach for integrating HIV prevention and violence against women services. The RISE intervention is approximately 45 – 60 minutes in length divided into two main parts: (1) Standard HIV Knowledge and Information Sharing, and (2) Skills-building and Risk Reduction Activities.

The components are listed below.

Part 1: Standard HIV knowledge and Information Sharing

1. Let's Get to Know Each Other

2. Intimate Partner Violence and HIV Risks

3. HIV 101 for Women

4. HIV Testing and Counseling (Information sharing)

5. HIV Testing and Counseling (Actual testing)

Part 2: Skills-building and Risk Reduction Activities

1. Personal Goal Setting

2. Sexual Safety Planning

3. Condom Discussion or Demonstration

4. Assertive Communications Skills-building

5. Obtain HIV test results, referrals, wrap-up and final discussions

THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN TRAINING CURRICULUM. HIV educators and service providers are engaged in a one-day training where they learn gender specific strategies for assessing and addressing issues related to violence against women. The curriculum includes six modules: (1) An Overview of the Cycle of Violence, (2) A Closer look at the Faces of Female Survivors of Domestic Violence, (3) Making the Connection Between HIV Risk Factors among Female Survivors, (4) How to Screen for IPV Risks in HIV Services and Education, (5) How to use the Conflict Tactic Scale for IPV Screening in HIV Service Settings, (6) Providing Clients with Resources and Referrals.

Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate the relevance of black feminist theory in public health interventions for women and girls of color

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to teach this institute because I have been advancing black feminism in public health since 2003 as my NIH-funded dissertation research provided a critical perspective on why black feminism should be a legitimate and mainstream framework in public health. My work resulted in a book published by Taylor and Francis titled, Rough Living: Black Women's Risk for HIV. In keeping with principles of black feminism to include diverse stakeholders in the knowledge gathering and sharing processes, I wrote, directed, and produced a play based on the clinical research findings from her book, called “Divine Intervention. In 2007, The CDC’s National HIV Prevention Conference presented “Divine Intervention” to diverse stakeholders in HIV. As a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, my work on advancing black feminism in public health was presented at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health’s Annual Women’s Symposium. Finally, I have developed and implemented two practice-based public health interventions guided by black feminism.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Advancing Black Feminist Theory and Practice in Public Health
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