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Community collaborative youth-focused HIV/AIDS prevention in South Africa and Trinidad: preliminary findings.

Baptiste DR, Bhana A, Petersen I, McKay M, Voisin D, Bell C, Martinez DD

Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago, Illinois 60608, USA. dbaptiste@psych.uic.edu

BACKGROUND: South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago are disproportionately impacted by high rates of HIV/AIDS among adolescents. OBJECTIVE: The article describes the HIV crises in these countries; outlines a community participatory research framework to adapt and deliver family-based prevention; and presents preliminary data from intervention pilots in each setting. METHODS: Adapted interventions were piloted with N = 140 families in South Africa and N=16 families in Trinidad and Tobago to refine recruitment and retention efforts and to assess the adapted interventions' impact on family and risk-related constructs. RESULTS: Both settings reported promising results including high recruitment and retention and favourable pre to post changes in parent/youth frequency and comfort in talking about sensitive subjects, HIV transmission knowledge and attitudes about persons with HIV/AIDS. CONCLUSION: International HIV-prevention alliances are increasing. Such alliances are challenged by trust issues, power-differentials and ideological differences. Recommendations are provided on how some challenges can be overcome.

Published 5 September 2006 in J Pediatr Psychol, 31(9): 905-16.
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