Straight Talk on Preventing HIV Program

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The purpose of the Straight Talk on Preventing HIV Program is to develop gender- and age-specific HIV/AIDS prevention education that is culturally, spiritually, and linguistically appropriate for female teenagers at-risk for or living with HIV/AIDS. In the FY 2009 funding year, successful applicants will develop and pilot a cross-generational HIV/AIDS prevention education program that is adapted from an existing CDC evidence-based HIV prevention program listed in the 2008 CDC Compendium of Evidence-Bared HIV Prevention Programs to meet the needs of the applicants’ target population. The new program should be designed to establish effective communication between female teenagers and their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and older sisters about health issues. The program’s aim is to teach sexual health as an integral part of heath and to teach female members of a family that a healthy life includes physical health, emotional health, and sexual health. The HIV/AIDS prevention education approaches will be specific to female teenagers at-risk for or living with HIV/AIDS and other female members of the family 12 – 18 years old , particularly African American, Native American/American Indian, and/or Hispanic/Latina populations. Through this program, the teenager’s mother, grandmothers, and other female members of the family (such as cousins, aunts, and other kinship network members) will become educated on how to demonstrate their love and support for their teenagers by learning healthy communication skills about physical health, emotional health, and sexual health.. As well as HIV/AIDS prevention, the program will teach female teenagers and adult women about understanding the interconnectedness of life experiences such as intimate partner violence and using drugs with risk prevention. With the use of behavioral health therapists, health educators, and peer groups, successful applicants will provide the teen-age participants with multiple outlets to recognize their at-risk behavior and learn about some alternatives, get tested for HIV and if needed, get tested for HIV on a regular basis, and schedule regular appointments with the behavior health therapist to receive counseling and strategies on how best to change at-risk behaviors. Involvement in the events of National Women’s Health Week and National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day will give participants additional opportunities to practice living a healthy lifestyle.

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