255590 Using community-based participatory research (CBPR) to develop a community-level HIV prevention intervention for Latinas: A local response to a global challenge

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Casey Kelley, BS, MPH(c) , Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT
Scott Rhodes, PhD, MPH, CHES , Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Florence Simán, MPH , El Pueblo, Inc., Raleigh, NC
Rebecca Ruth Cashman, MPH , Health Care Resources for Human Development, Health Care Resources for Human Development, Philadelphia, PA
Jorge Alonzo, JD , Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Alexandra Boeving Allen, PhD , Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Mario Downs , Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Omar Martinez, JD, MPH , Center for Sexual Health Promotion, Indiana University-Bloomington, Bloomington, IN
Stacy Duck, BS , 401B North Ivey Ave, Chatham Social Health Council, Siler City, NC
Beth A. Reboussin, PhD , Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Introduction: The arsenal of interventions to reduce the disproportionate rates of HIV and sexually transmitted disease (STD) infection among Latinos in the United States lags behind what is available for other populations. The purpose of this project was to develop an intervention that builds on existing community strengths to promote sexual health among immigrant Latinas.

Methods: Our community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership engaged in a multi-step intervention development process. The steps were: (1) increase Latina participation in the existing partnership; (2) establish an Intervention Team; (3) review the existing sexual health literature; (4) explore health-related needs and priorities of Latinas; (5) narrow priorities based on what is important and changeable; (6) blend health behavior theory with Latinas' lived experiences; (7) design an intervention conceptual model; (8) develop training modules and (9) resource materials; and (10) pretest and (11) revise the intervention.

Results: The MuJEReS intervention contains five modules to train Latinas to serve as lay health advisors (LHAs) known as “Comadres”. These modules synthesize locally collected data with other local and national data, blend health behavior theory with the lived experiences of immigrant Latinas, and harness a powerful existing community asset: the informal social support Latinas provide one another.

Conclusions: This promising intervention is designed to meet the sexual health priorities of Latinas. It extends beyond HIV and STDs and frames disease prevention within a sexual health promotion framework. It builds on the strong pre-existing social networks of Latinas and the pre-existing, culturally congruent roles of LHAs.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning

Learning Objectives:
By the conclusion of the presentation, the participant will be able to: (1) Outline 11 steps of a systematic CBPR process to develop a culturally congruent community-level intervention for immigrant Latina women; (2) Describe the values and principles of a cross-cultural CBPR partnership; and (3) Evaluate the unique contributions of community members, organizational representatives, and academic researchers in the development of the intervention.

Keywords: Latinas, Community-Based Partnership

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have a PhD in Health Behavior/Health Education and an MPH in Health Administration. I am a Fellow in the American Academy of Health Behavior. As PI, I have >10 years of federally funded research in partnership with immigrant Latino communities in the US. I also have >110 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters.
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.

Back to: 5192.0: The many faces of Latino health research and social well-being