AEGiS-06IAC: The Oakland schools AIDS project: a model of public agency-community partnership in junior high HIV prevention programs.

6th International AIDS Conference

San Francisco, California, USA — June 20-23, 1990

The Oakland schools AIDS project: a model of public agency-community partnership in junior high HIV prevention programs.

Int Conf AIDS 1990 Jun 20-23; 6:339 (abstract no. Th.D.854)
Krasnovsky F, Siegel D, Lazarus N, Durbin M, Kakimoto D, Davis M, Suminski G; University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

OBJECTIVE: To describe the interactions among public agencies in developing and implementing an HIV prevention program within an urban, multi-ethnic school district.

METHODS: Administrators from the Oakland Unified School District approached investigators at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies of the University of California to explore development and implementation of an HIV prevention program for junior high students; Red Cross and County health department representatives also participated. While each of these public agencies is independently engaged in HIV prevention activities, this represented their first collaborative HIV prevention project. The Red Cross provided films, brochures, and posters; the County provided health educators for teacher training, the School District provided the target student population and offered office space, science teachers to implement the curriculum, and access to parent groups; and the University developed the curriculum and evaluation materials, coordinated teacher training sessions and provided program oversight. Community parent groups reviewed educational materials to ensure cultural and age appropriateness.

RESULTS: Collaboration and close communication between public agencies and the community was critical to overcoming barriers to program planning, implementation, and evaluation. The pilot HIV prevention program was expanded and is now planned for integration into standard courses for all junior high schools in the district.

CONCLUSION: Multi-agency and community cooperation is feasible, and indeed essential, for successful development and implementation of effective school-based HIV prevention programs.

Keywords: AEGIS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Schools, HIV Infections, HIV, Health Education, School Health Services, Curriculum, Program Evaluation, Students, Government Agencies, HIV-1, Cooperative Behavior, Emotions, California, prevention & control, education, ICA6

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ThD854