142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

296937
HIV/AIDS Prevention through the Science School Curriculum: Community Elders' Perspectives on the Effectiveness of School HIV/AIDS Education in the Ivorian School Curriculum

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 : 11:30 AM - 11:50 AM

Gustave Ado , Teacher College, Columbia University, Teaneck, NJ
As a result of HIV infection in many parts of Ivory Coast, school-based HIV curricula and intervention have to be utilized to advance the science of HIV/AIDS prevention in students. To be successful, curriculum planning for HIV prevention requires both balance and integration of perspectives such as perspectives from the ministry of education and the communities. School-based HIV prevention programs developed without this collaboration are unlikely to be successful in preventing the transmission of HIV infection.  Although community elders exhibit a mixed understanding of how to grapple with the norms, beliefs, and even superstitions that Ivorian society holds about the causes and the cures for HIV/AIDS, at least the study data show there is consensus among community elders that something needs to be done about the teaching of HIV/AIDS content.  Using a range of qualitative methods such as individual interviews and field notes, this qualitative study described and analyzed Ivorian community elders’ views of sociocultural factors that influenced the implementation of HIV/AIDS education within Ivorian schools. The data included here are individual interviews from 20 community elders in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and field notes.  Study data revealed that community elders had such uneasiness talking about HIV/AIDS to their children at home.  Using community-school connections as a tool to integrate HIV learning in the school curriculum can be rewarding for their schoolchildren.  With careful evaluations of how HIV/AIDS is being taught, community elders hope community-school connections may spike HIV/AIDS learning opportunities in the future for Ivorian youth as situated in a youth development perspective.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control

Learning Objectives:
Analyze the perspectives of Ivorian community elders on how they believe the Ivorian ministry of education and schools were most effectively addressing HIV/AIDS education through the science curriculum.

Keyword(s): Health Promotion and Education, Community-Based Partnership & Collaboration

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I recently completed a doctorate in education (Ed.D.) at Teachers College, Columbia University . My research focused on culturally relevant ways to teach HIV/AIDS topics in the Cote D'Ivoire. My qualitative study described and analyzed Ivorian community elders’ views of sociocultural factors that influenced the implementation of HIV/AIDS education within Ivorian schools. My research concentrated on how school and community-based connections can be used to improve African students’ sexual health.
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.