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Adaptation of an Alcohol and HIV School-Based Prevention Program for Teens

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Abstract

Given the current status of HIV infection in youth in India, developing and implementing HIV education and prevention interventions is critical. The goal for School-based Teenage Education Program (STEP) was to demonstrate that a HIV/AIDS and alcohol abuse educational program built with specific cultural, linguistic, and community-specific characteristics could be effective. Utilizing the Train-the-Trainer model, the instructors (17–21 years) were trained to present the 10 session manualized program to primarily rural and tribal youth aged 13–16 years in 23 schools (N = 1,421) in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh in India. The intervention had a greater impact on girls; girls evidenced greater communication skills and a trend towards greater self efficacy and reduced risk taking behavior. The STEP has been successfully adapted by the community organizations that were involved in coordinating the program at the local level. Their intention to continue STEP beyond extra funding shows that utilizing the local community in designing, implementing and evaluating programs promotes ownership and sustainability.

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Acknowledgements

The current paper is part of a larger study called “A School-based Teenage Education Program (STEP II) for Alcohol Abuse and HIV Prevention” which was funded by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R21AA014826; PI: Chhabra).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, 1300 Morris Park Ave, VE Building #5, Room 6B32, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Rosy Chhabra

  2. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, 11530, USA

    Carolyn Springer

  3. HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 15, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Cheng-Shiun Leu

  4. Department of Psychology, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, 171005, HP, India

    Shivnath Ghosh & Sunil Kumar Sharma

  5. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Bruce Rapkin

Authors
  1. Rosy Chhabra
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  2. Carolyn Springer
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  3. Cheng-Shiun Leu
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  4. Shivnath Ghosh
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  5. Sunil Kumar Sharma
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  6. Bruce Rapkin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rosy Chhabra.

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Chhabra, R., Springer, C., Leu, CS. et al. Adaptation of an Alcohol and HIV School-Based Prevention Program for Teens. AIDS Behav 14 (Suppl 1), 177–184 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-010-9739-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-010-9739-3

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