| Abstract |
No data regarding HIV prevention interventions for Latino adolescents, as distinct from other ethnic groups, have been published to date. Previous literature has demonstrated that Latino adolescents are at risk for engaging in sexual behaviors that can lead to HIV. Although Latinos represent only 10% of the population, they are disproportionately represented among those diagnosed with HIV. This Developmental Award will conduct a pilot study of a family-based HIV prevention intervention specifically for Latino families using an intervention that Dr. Lescano has adapted from a multi-site trial for non-minority youth. The family-based HIV prevention intervention will be compared to a family-based general health promotion intervention. The project will estimate the effect size of the HIV prevention intervention compared to the general health promotion intervention from assessment of changes in HIV-related sexual behavior, attitudes, and communication skills, as well as parental monitoring. Cultural issues such as acculturation, religiosity, sexual communication, and knowledge, gender role and sexual socialization, and monitoring practices are being addressed by Dr. Lescano in her current work with new intervention material being added to the existing family-based HIV prevention intervention. Feedback from focus groups on the acceptability of the new material and continued refinement will occur until this award begins the pilot test of the adapted intervention. For this Developmental Award one hundred Latino families with an adolescent between the ages of 13 and 18 ( about 7cohorts of 14 families ) will be randomized into a HIV prevention intervention or a general health promotion intervention. Interventions consist of 6 to 8 parent and youth dyads in a one-day, 7-hour workshop. The HIV prevention intervention is divided into three components including general communication skill training and more specific training in effective communication with one another about sexual topics. Following didactic presentations for each component, parents and youth come together to role-play and practice new skills. Parents and youth then return to separate groups to receive feedback, debrief about the previous interaction. Measures will be completed at baseline (after consent has been obtained), immediately after the intervention, and at 3 months post-intervention. The preliminary work done in this Developmental Award will lead to submission of an R01 that will help to determine the efficacy of the HIV prevention intervention in a larger sample of Latinos. If found to be efficacious compared to the control interventions , the family-based HIV prevention intervention can then be widely disseminated for use in at-risk communities and will contribute to the AIDS prevention field through its implementation and publication.
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