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HIV / AIDS Prevention
by: Kathleen Petersen
Introduction
I researched several different areas within the realm of HIV/AIDS. At first I decided to not use strategies of intervention and prevention because it seemed as though it was a common theme. When I thought about it for a while I realized that it really was an area that needed a lot of attention. I decided to do intervention and prevention education of HIV/AIDS. The population I chose was adolescents. I was asked to do a presentation at a local child/adolescent day program center. I learned through the set up of the presentation that it would be children between the ages of 6-14 years old.
To be completely honest, most of my awareness of the disease and the issues surrounding it were from what I saw and learned from my client's experiences. When I initially started out researching I read tons of journals, HIV/AIDS and gay magazines, Internet web sites and newspaper articles in relation to existing and current pressing issues. I continued on researching material and also incorporated my interviews and questions to individuals both in the field as well as clients. World AIDS day on December 1st had a profound effect on my view and aspects of what I thought I knew about the disease and issues. The impact is still with me.
Statement of Need
HIV/AIDS is an extensive problem, particularly among the adolescent population. Every hour of every day, two teens are infected with HIV. Twenty-five percent of new HIV infections are people under the age of 22. In addition, there are currently eleven strains of the virus. HIV/AIDS is a very taboo topic in our society. This often acts as an obstacle top prevention/education efforts. Also many people believe that contracting the virus won't happen to them, and they continue to practice unsafe sex. However, approximately 16,000 individuals each day become infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. I believe that represents a definite statement of need for prevention/education.
Description of the Intervention
For my intervention I co-facilated a presentation at the day center with Health Education Specialist, from the Health Department. The process of organizing and trying to coordinate with the day center was very difficult and frustrating. The Health Education Specialist and I both had tried reaching the Program director numerous times for approximately one month.. It wasn't until the week of the presentation that we both heard back from her.
Within the guidelines for our intervention we were not allowed to disclose that HIV/AIDS was sexually transmitted. We did not discuss any sexual aspects or even elaborate on how it is transmitted. The intervention entailed what is called AIDS 101. We talked about what the disease is and explained it through germs, bacteria, virus' and the immune system. We decided our main theme would be compassion and friendship. We used a bruised apple and a nice apple to compare which one looked sick and which one looked healthy. On the inside of the nice apple we had injected dye. When we cut it open it looked unhealthy.
The Health Education Specialist decided it would be good to incorporate aspects of "operation teddy", which is a local project used to instruct and inform elementary aged children on HIV/AIDS. We picked a few ideas from that project such as having the kids make a compassion chain/quilt from construction paper and tying and linking them together with yarn. We also played make the connection game. In this game we put the words HIV/AIDS on the board and had the kids yell out words they felt associated with the diseases.
Evaluation of the Intervention
Considering the diverse age group I think it went well. We had about 10-12 kids. I felt that some of the kids were too young to understand a lot of what was being said. I noticed that there were kids that were eleven and twelve that really were interested and asked several questions. After the presentation The Health Education Specialist and I talked to the coordinators and planned to come back to do a class with the teenage group. We are planning to do that within the next couple of months. I did feel good because I know that we reached a couple of the older kids. For our next presentation I would like to meet with the day center directors and coordinators several weeks prior to the scheduled presentation and discuss the strategies and plans for the presentation within a group meeting. I feel this would enable me to set up a solid plan and I can learn what exactly is needed by the day center staff.
Reflections on the Project
The process of setting up this presentation was very frustrating. The program director of the day center was difficult to make contact with and this in turn made confirming dates with the Health Education Specialist difficult. I also was disappointed with the disorganization when we arrived at the center. We were left to take care of things on our own. The staff did not know who we were or that there was a presentation.
As for recommendations for future action, I would like to see students bring a presenter to Chico State like I tried to. I would like to see clients come in and speak to a class so that social workers can see that side of the spectrum. It would also be beneficial to have a day set aside to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, like world AIDS day and set up booths for information including all the different agencies and testing sites. I feel we as a community really need this kind of awareness. Thinking back now I wish I would have done something like that.
References
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