The goal of this program is to provide linguistically and culturally specific HIV/AIDS, STD and TB prevention tools to the Haitian community in order to increase their awareness and hopefully decrease the risk of HIV infection. The program intends also to increase the number of people who know their HIV status and improve the health and well being of people living with, and/or at risk of HIV. For many people in the community, they believe that HIV/AIDS is not a natural disease, but the result of a bad spirit curse; for many others, it is the result of experimentation done in some laboratory. Understanding these factors and perceptions are important in order to have interventions that are meaningful to the community and encourages positive individual behavior.
Our Health Education and Prevention focuses on where the Haitian and Caribbean communities primarily live and socialize – in Brooklyn and Queens. Currently, this is where the greatest need exists.
To address the education and prevention needs, we have one Health Educator in Brooklyn and another one in Queens. They both use several non-judgmental, behaviorally grounded methods that are culturally sensitive to provide important information and tools. Below are the methods:
Presentations/Lectures
To deliver an informative message about HIV/AIDS prevention, current trends in treatment and compelling information such as statistics and the unmet needs of those infected to the community are communicated. Additional topics include, but are not limited to, basic HIV/AIDS 101, nutrition, new treatments and the importance of treatment adherence; primary/secondary prevention methods, testing issues, and the use of male/female condoms as well as the impact of AIDS on women and children.
Agency and program information are communicated clearly as to where services are available. The content of the material has been generally designed to target the Haitian community at-large as well as those who may be at-risk. These lectures are conducted as unique sessions and are usually delivered at churches, schools and after school programs, adult education programs and a community gathering. Since literacy and language may be issues that act as barriers to HIV prevention/education, these presentations are done in Creole in order to be easily understood. We also have a cassette tape in Creole to complement this educational effort.
Individual level Intervention (ILI)
Individuals interested in getting tested are met on a one on one basis for an intervention called, “Know Your Status”. This intervention consists of 3 sessions to be completed within a month. The sessions involve an assessment of personal risk, the identification of risk behavior and the barriers to healthy behavior and positive change as well as the risk reduction steps and appropriate referral for testing. After the test, those diagnosed as being infected will be sensitively counseled and then referred to a medical service provider for appropriate care; those who test negative will be invited to attend our “Keep Safe” class. ILIs help facilitate linkages to services in both clinical and community settings.
Group Level Interventions (GLI)
For those who tested negative, HCC has developed an educational intervention called “Keep Safe: Reduce Your Risk of Getting Infected”. This intervention consists of 4 sessions being conducted over a period of 4 weeks. Each session is approximately 45-60 minutes in length. The series begin with basic education and skills building, and then progressively each session builds upon the skills learned in previous session. Group activities are designed to assist clients with personal risk assessment and behavior change maintenance. The last session focuses on the development of a long-term strategy to maintain and reinforce behavior change that support practices that prevent the transmission of HIV.
Family presentation
Upon request, our Educators meet twice a month in their home with members of a family for a focused presentation on HIV. After an ice breaking exercise, the first session starts with an overview of HIV/AIDS and other STD’s. At the following session, more pertinent information such as mode of transmission and prevention, abstinence and condom use, etc is discussed. This session also emphasizes the importance for family members to support each other in order to develop and maintain healthy behaviors. Some families may request a third session to emphasize what they learned in the first two.
Client Education
Our Case Mangers may refer a particular client to the Health Educator. He will see that client for a more personalized educational session that is shaped by their needs. Sessions and conversations generally focus on the domains of understanding HIV, Secondary Prevention, Treatment and Treatment adherence, etc. They also discuss Confidentiality and Disclosure issues