AEGiS-08IAC: How early should AIDS education begin?: An educational approach to teach pre-schoolers to prevent AIDS in Puerto Rico.

8th International AIDS Conference

Amsterdam, Netherlands — July 19-24, 1992

How early should AIDS education begin?: An educational approach to teach pre-schoolers to prevent AIDS in Puerto Rico.

Int Conf AIDS 1992 Jul 19-24; 8:Tu42 (abstract no. TuD 0576)
Unda R, Acevedo HL, Sotomayor J, Feliciano C, Carmona J, Gonzalez L, Kouri Y; Harvard Institute for Int. Development.

ISSUE/PROBLEM: While some countries are debating whether to provide AIDS education in elementary schools, we present an ongoing program designed and implemented at the preschool level.

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: With the endorsement of the Mayor of San Juan, in May 1991 the Education Department of the San Juan AIDS Institute launched an educational program called "Planting the Seed of Knowledge", to teach pre-schoolers how to prevent AIDS. Pre-schoolers ages 3-5 from 64 Head Start Centers in the Capital City were selected for the study. The program includes the use of clowns, dolls, a puppet show, songs and role-play techniques to explain that AIDS is a deadly disease that can be transmitted through drug abuse. Children are taught that AIDS cannot be transmitted through casual every day contact, like in the case of a potential HIV carrier classmate. A puppet show illustrates how important it is to love and accept a classmate that could be an HIV carrier. Although sexual transmission of AIDS is not discussed, children are taught to prevent sexual abuse through a presentation by health educators using dolls.

RESULTS: As of March 1992, a total of 3,350 pre-schoolers have been taught using this training program. Health educators are able to retain the children's attention for the two-hour period of the educational program. The response of children's parents who also participate in the program has been very positive and supportive of the educational activity. Moreover, media coverage of the event in the press and television has reported very favorable comments to the program. LESSONS LEARNED: Drug abuse is rampant in the communities of the selected Head Start centers. Several of the children that have been taught in this program are orphans of parents that have died of AIDS. By the time many youngsters reach adolescence, they are either multiple drug users, or drug dealers. Education and prevention programs for AIDS should start at the earliest educational level, specially in areas with high incidence of AIDS.

Keywords: AEGIS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Teaching, Students, Schools, Educational Status, Puerto Rico, Child, Human, education, prevention & control, ICA8
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