Community AIDS/HIV risk reduction: the effects of endorsements by popular people in three cities. Am J Public Health 1992 Nov;82(11):1483-9
Date
11/01/1992Pubmed ID
1443297Pubmed Central ID
PMC1694607DOI
10.2105/ajph.82.11.1483Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0026457155 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 334 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVES: It is critical to extend community-level acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention efforts beyond education alone and to develop models that better encourage behavioral changes. Gay men in small cities are vulnerable to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection due to continued high rates of risk behavior. This research introduced an intervention that trained popular people to serve as behavioral change endorsers to peers sequentially across three different cities.
METHODS: Populationwide surveys were conducted of all men patronizing gay clubs in each city to establish risk behavior base rates. After a small cadre of popular "trendsetters" were identified, they received training in approaches for peer education and then contracted to communicate risk reduction recommendations and endorsements to friends. Surveys were repeated at regular intervals in all cities, with the same intervention introduced in lagged fashion across each community.
RESULTS: Intervention consistently produced systematic reductions in the population's high-risk behavior (unprotected anal intercourse) of 15% to 29% from baseline levels, with the same pattern of effects sequentially replicated in all three cities.
CONCLUSIONS: This constitutes the first controlled, multiple-city test of an HIV prevention model targeting communities. The results support the utility of norm-changing approaches to reduce HIV risk behavior.
Author List
Kelly JA, St Lawrence JS, Stevenson LY, Hauth AC, Kalichman SC, Diaz YE, Brasfield TL, Koob JJ, Morgan MGAuthors
Allan C. Hauth Research Scientist II in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinJeffrey A. Kelly PhD Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Acquired Immunodeficiency SyndromeAdult
HIV Infections
Health Education
Homosexuality
Humans
Leadership
Louisiana
Male
Mississippi
Risk Factors
Risk-Taking
Sexual Behavior
Urban Health