We're in!

Abstract

Carino y Salud is a three-year project that targeted low-income Latino youth and families living in the communities on the Southside of Tucson, Arizona. The objective was to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and healthy behaviors and increase access to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services. Strategies included implementing a culturally competent HIV/AIDS prevention program to educate Latino youth about HIV/AIDS, implementing a parenting program to educate Latino parents about HIV/AIDS and improve their health communication skills, and conducting a community-based HIV/AIDS awareness campaign to educate the Latino community about HIV/AIDS. A process evaluation was conducted using tracking tools such as a staff monitoring log, sign-in sheets, and a satisfaction survey to monitor work progress and identify program issues. An outcome evaluation was also completed using a mixed-method approach, which included a pre/post test administered to program participants, focus groups with the participants who completed the program, annual telephone surveys with community members to gauge the impact of the HIV/AIDS awareness campaign, and a collaboration survey to assess the effectiveness of collaborative efforts. The evaluation found that participants' knowledge about HIV/AIDS and related health care services improved as a result of participating in the project. Specifically, youth participants increased their knowledge about HIV/AIDS by 32 percent, which greatly exceeded the anticipated improvement of 10 percent. Parents improved their HIV/AIDS knowledge by 72 percent, and participants' knowledge about culturally appropriate health services increased by 30 percent as a result of participating in the Latinos and HIV/AIDS Symposium.

Related NPA Goals:

• Increased awareness, education and outreach to address racial/ethnic minority health and health disparities problems
• Strengthened leadership and coordination to leverage resources and enhance effectiveness and efficiency of individual and collective efforts (including, but not limited to, research and data)

Related Healthy People 2010 Objectives:

• 13-1 Reduce AIDS among adolescents and adults
• 13-14 Reduce deaths from HIV infection
• 13-16 Increase years of life of an HIV-infected person by extending the interval of time between an AIDS diagnosis and death
• 25-1a Chlamydia infections among females attending family planning clinics (aged 15 to 24 years)
• 25-2 Reduce new cases of gonorrhea per 100,000 population