262975 Assessing Community Strengths through the Use of Evidence Based Interventions: The Sister's Rise Perspective

Monday, October 29, 2012

Cheng Wang, MA , MS , Institute for Child Health Policy, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Michelle A. Doldren, MPH EDD , Institute for Child Health Policy, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Deborah A. Mulligan, MD FAAP FACEP , Institute for Child Health Policy, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Minerva Bryant, MEd, CAP, CMHP , Vice President, Clinical Operations, River Region Human Services, Inc., Jacksonville, FL
David Bradley Sr., BS , Prevention, River Region Human Services, INc., Jacksonville, FL
  
Sister's Rise is a SAMHSA funded prevention project that seeks to reduce the incidence of HIV infection among Black, heterosexual men and women ages 19-34 in Jacksonville, FL. The project delivers two Evidence Based Intervention programs. The SISTA program targets African American women and the VOICES program targets both African American women and men. Both intervention programs focus on the reduction of HIV infection and risky sexual behaviors, however, the method of delivery varies. VOICES is a 2 hour long single session program, whereas, SISTA is a multiple session program that includes a 3 month follow up survey.

The program evaluation results show that on average, participants gained knowledge on HIV transmission, STD symptoms and condom use through the VOICES intervention. Furthermore, the VOICES participants also demonstrated a strong intention to practice safe sex in the future.

The SISTA intervention effectively changed the confidence level of participants regarding condom use with their main partner. Moreover, the participants retained what they have learned from the SISTA program for at least 3 months following the intervention.

The evaluation of the program results provided the Sister's Rise project with insight into the beliefs, attitudes and barriers participants held regarding HIV prevention. This insight is useful for developing future HIV prevention programs for African American communities. Equally important, understanding the strengths and barriers that a community has can serve as the foundation for selecting or adopting evidence based intervention programs that meet the needs of the community.

Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
1. Discuss the implications of the evaluation results on the Sister’s Rise Project 2. Describe how the multiple Evidence Based interventions was used to assess community strengths related to HIV prevention awareness

Keywords: Community Research, HIV/AIDS

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Mrs. Cheng Wang, MSci, MA, has been the leading statistician and program evaluator for many public health projects finished by our Institute. In recently years, Mrs. Wang’s research interests are focused on public health issues, such as child injury prevention, HIV/AIDS prevention and the Health Care system in the United States. She is specialized in program planning, database management, statistical design and analysis. Mrs. Wang also teaches statistical courses at the college level.
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: 3117.0: Evidence-Based Community Health Interventions for African American Communities