The Implementation of a Culturally Based HIV Sexual Risk Reduction Program for Latino Youth in a Denver Area High School

• Published in: AIDS education and prevention 2009-10, Vol.21 (5), p.164-170
• Main Authors: Mueller, Trisha E, Castaneda, Charlene Angel, Sainer, Shannon, Martinez, Donna, Herbst, Jeffrey H, Wilkes, Aisha L, Villarruel, Antonia M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS); Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior - ethnology; Adolescent Pregnancy; Adolescents; After School Programs; AIDS; AIDS/HIV; Beliefs; Case Studies; Classroom Communication; Colorado; Community Relations; Contraception; Culture; Curriculum; Disease Control; Ethnic Groups; Evidence; Female; Health Education; Health Education - methods; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Promotion; High Schools; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic Americans - education; Hispanic Americans - ethnology; HIV; HIV Infections - ethnology; HIV Infections - prevention & control; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Latin American Cultural Groups; Male; Parent Education; Parent Participation; Parents & parenting; Pregnancy; Prevention; Program Content; Program Development; Program Evaluation; Program Implementation; Randomized Controlled Trials; Risk; Risk Reduction Behavior; Risk taking; School Schedules; Schools; Self Efficacy; Sexual Behavior; Sexuality; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; STD; Student Recruitment; Students; Technical Assistance; Teenage pregnancy; Teenagers; Urban Schools; Whites
• ISSN: 0899-9546; 1943-2755
• DOI: 10.1521/aeap.2009.21.5_supp.164

In the United States, Latino youth experience disproportionately higher rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than non-Latino Whites. As a result, organizations serving Latino youth seek culturally appropriate evidence-based prevention programs that promote sexual abstinence and condom use. "Cuidate" is an efficacious HIV sexual risk reduction program for Latino youth aged 13-18. The program incorporates cultural beliefs that are common among Latino youth and associated with sexual risk behavior, and uses these beliefs to frame abstinence and condom use as culturally accepted and effective ways to prevent unintended pregnancy and STIs, including HIV/AIDS. "Cuidate" has been successfully delivered in community agencies and after-school programs but has not been integrated into an existing school curriculum. This brief case study describes efforts to implement "Cuidate" in a predominantly Latino urban high school in Denver. Ninety-three youth participated in the program from October 2007 to May 2008. "Cuidate" was adapted to accommodate the typical class period by delivering program content over a larger number of sessions and extending the total amount of time of the program to allow for additional activities. Major challenges of program implementation included student recruitment and the "opt in" policy for participation. Despite these challenges, "Cuidate" was implemented with minor adaptations in a school setting.