A program evaluation: the effectiveness of an HIV intervention at reducing high risk sexual behavior among African American women, 2007
Smith, N'dia R.
2000-2009
This program evaluation examines the effectiveness of The Healthy Love Workshop, sponsored by SisterLove, Incorporated. The purpose of the Healthy Love Workshop is to decrease HIV risk behaviors, reduce the number of sexual partners, increase sexual abstinence, promote the consistent use of condoms, and increase the number of persons taking HIV tests. This workshop specifically focuses on finding ways to reach African American women by using a culturally-oriented approach. The Healthy Love Workshop is an empowering intervention that attempts to open the door to a world of choices and positive decision making for its participants. Women attending the Healthy Love Workshop are compared to women attending the HTV 101 workshop. While the purpose of the HIV 101 Workshop is the same as the Healthy Love Workshop, the former has no cultural component. Participants were randomly assigned to each intervention in order to compare the knowledge learned from participation in the workshop. A review of the literature will be presented for areas including risky sexual behavior, HIV prevention, and effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention programs. The literature also explores the Social Cognitive Theory and the Afrocentric perspective as it relates to the target population. An exploratory design with a pretest and posttest instrument is used to evaluate the sample of 176 women. The sample consists of women of African descent who live in the metro Atlanta area with the following characteristics: between ages 18 to 69; not pregnant; and at risk for contracting HTV7AIDS. The data was analyzed using an independent sample t-test and the Statistical Packages for the Social Science 11.0 for Windows (SPSS). Findings from the analysis show a significant variance between the two groups. The Healthy Love Workshop was a more effective intervention in the area of HIV Testing, Self-efficacy, and HTV Knowledge. The findings imply that there is a need for a more culturally-centered prevention programs to advance HIV/AIDS education. The implications of these results to social work practice and HIV prevention education are discussed.
text
application/pdf
2007-05-01
thesis
Master of Social Work (MSW)
Clark Atlanta University
School of Social Work
Davis, Sarita
Georgia--Atlanta
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:2007_smith_ndia_r