Skip to main content

HIV/STD Risk Reduction Interventions for African American and Latino Adolescent Girls

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

This HIV/STD prevention intervention was designed to be culturally and developmentally appropriate for inner-city African American and Latino teen girls. The program occurred in an adolescent medicine clinic and included three treatment groups: an information-based intervention, a skill-based intervention, and a health-promotion control intervention. The information-based HIV/STD intervention provided information to reduce sexual risk. The skill-based HIV/STD intervention provided information and taught skills necessary to practice and negotiate condom use through activities and role playing. The health-promotion control intervention discussed health issues unrelated to sexual activity. Each intervention involved 250 minutes of group discussions, videotapes, games, and experiential exercises.

Goal / Mission

The goal of this intervention was to reduce self-reported unprotected sexual intercourse among African American and Latino adolescent girls.

Impact

Skill-based HIV/STD interventions can improve condom-use and reduce sexual risk behaviors, along with STD rates, among African American and Latino teen girls in clinical settings.

Results / Accomplishments

The information-based intervention and the health-promotion control elicited no statistically significant behavior changes. Skills-based intervention participants reported utilizing condoms more often at the 12-month follow-up than information-based intervention participants (p=0.03) and health-promotion participants (p=0.002). At the 12-month follow-up, skills-intervention participants reduced their sexual risk by reporting fewer sexual partners compared to health-promotion control participants (p=0.04) and were more likely to test negative for an STD than health-promotion control participants (p=0.05).

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
University of Pennsylvania
Primary Contact
John B. Jemmott III, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
Annenberg School for Communication
Center for Health Behavior and Communication Research
3535 Market St, Suite 520
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3309
(215) 898-7041
jjemmott@asc.upenn.edu
https://www.asc.upenn.edu/people/faculty/john-b-je...
Topics
Health / Adolescent Health
Health / Family Planning
Organization(s)
University of Pennsylvania
Source
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Date of publication
2005
Geographic Type
Urban
Location
Philadelphia
For more details
Target Audience
Teens, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Miami-Dade Matters