Rodriguez J, Ornelas M; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1992 Jul 19-24; 8: D443 (abstract no. PoD 5339).
National Task Force on AIDS Prevention, San Francisco.
ISSUE/PROBLEM: Gay and bisexual men comprise 46% of all Latinos with AIDS in the United States. In the Southwestern U.S. (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and California) the percentages for gay and bisexual Latinos are drastically higher (i.e. Austin, TX-89%, San Francisco, CA-92%, Houston, TX-87% and Los Angeles, CA-86%. Gay and bisexual males constitute the highest risk group for HIV disease in the Latino community. Yet, twelve years into the epidemic, we have yet to see a comprehensive (culturally and linguistically appropriate) education and prevention program for this population. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: In response to the need of Latino gay and bisexual men, our intent is to develop a comprehensive prevention program (in English and Spanish). This information is conveyed through a series of educational workshops that are disseminated through to the target population through community-based groups. The workshops specifically deals with issues facing this population (i.e. self-esteem, sexuality, testing, and behavior change). The model is based on the replication and adaptation of an effective African-American model that has been highly successful in educating African-American gay and bisexual men. RESULTS: Eight focus groups were held (4 in English and 4 in Spanish), throughout California, in which the African-American model (and a Spanish language translation) was presented to Latino gay and bisexual men. The results gave baseline data for the adaptation of the program. The concerns of the men centered on the fact that there was almost no information on sexuality or cultural values and the important relationship of these issues to achieving behavior modification for them as Latino gay or bisexual men. Changes were made to the curriculum that included two new sections focusing on sexuality and cultural values, so that it would allow us to then present safer sex messages to our target population. Additionally feedback was received on proposed poster series and invitations (visual materials), which complement the prevention program. LESSONS LEARNED: Development of a culturally and linguistically appropriate prevention program needs to occur with input and direction from the target population, as opposed to simply taking a model that has been effective with another (mainstream, white gay male) and implementing it with a different target population (Latino gay or bisexual men) without dealing with the issues of Latino gay or bisexual men. Educational models must take into account the specific cultural, economic and social circumstances of the target population. Also, educational models must be adaptable to sub-groups within the population (ie, first generation, Central Americans, cross-gender, etc). Through this laborious development process, we are initiating a comprehensive prevention program targeting Latino gay and bisexual men living in the U.S.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- African Americans
- Arizona
- Bisexuality
- California
- Colorado
- Disease Outbreaks
- European Continental Ancestry Group
- Gender Identity
- HIV Infections
- Health Education
- Hispanic Americans
- Homosexuality
- Homosexuality, Male
- Humans
- Los Angeles
- Male
- New Mexico
- Safe Sex
- San Francisco
- Self Concept
- Sexual Behavior
- Texas
- United States
- education
- prevention & control
Other ID:
UI: 102200558
From Meeting Abstracts