AMP! los angeles: Pilot results from an arts-based sexual health intervention

The results and implications of a pilot of AMP! in 6 schools in Los Angeles, CA will be discussed. Students (N = 471, average age = 15.8 years, SD = 1.2 years) in health classes were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: AMP! Live (the full AMP program), AMP! Virtual (a condensed media-based version of the AMP! program) or control (usual health education provided in regular health classes). Randomization occurred at the school level. The impact of AMP! on HIV/AIDS knowledge and HIV testing was examined. We first looked for significant differences in baseline demographics between intervention conditions. Then, our analysis of the impact of the intervention compared the change in outcome measures between the baseline and follow-up assessments. We also controlled for baseline characteristics that differed significantly between conditions. We found an increase in mean HIV/AIDS knowledge from baseline to follow-up; the Live condition was estimated to be about 2 points larger than that in the Control condition (p=0.008). There were no significant differences in the change over time between Live and Virtual or between Virtual and Control. There were no significant differences in HIV testing among sexually active students in the three conditions. The implications for future research and further development of AMP! include how to better target testing for HIV and other STDs in the intervention (i.e., testing as an integral part of sexual health promotion for sexually active youth).