AEGiS-14IAC: Creating and adapting prevention programs: a six-country formative ethnographic study.

14th International AIDS Conference

Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

Creating and adapting prevention programs: a six-country formative ethnographic study.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. E11410)

Woodsong CK, Ethnographic Workgroup of the NIMH Collaborative, HIV/STD Prevention Trial NI
Family Health International, Research Triangle Park,NC, United States

BACKGROUND: Promising behavior change prevention programs have resulted application of components of these programs in settings different from those where originally applied (many of them in the U.S). However, such interventions require a period of careful formative research, to ensure that programs are created and adapted appropriately for the local setting and population. This paper presents findings of the formative ethnographic research component of the NIMH Collaborative HIV/STD Prevention Trial, conducted in China, India, Peru, Russia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Research was conducted to inform on development of a multi-country behavior change prevention trial based on the theory of social diffusion using community opinion leaders, and designed to reduce the spread of STIs and HIV.

METHODS: The paper will present an overview of the ethnographic study design, as embedded within the overall Prevention Trial, and will include a discussion of the methods used, standards adopted for the ethnographic study, training and staffing approaches at the six sites, and an overview of the cross-site domains of inquiry that guided ethnographic research. The approach taken by the NIMH Prevention Trial included a capacity-building model such that in-country staff were trained in ethnographic data collection and analysis to conduct research targeted to multiple specific needs of the larger Trial.

RESULTS: Paper will present highlights of the cross-site ethnographic findings on sexual risk behaviors and beliefs, as well as strategies for working with local opinion leaders to deliver behavior change messages designed for members of their social networks and constituencies.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this ethnographic study constitute a significant body of work in their own right, while they also demonstrate the potential for such studies to contribute to the creation and adaptation of behavior change interventions, and measurment of the outcomes of these interventions.

Keywords: AEGIS, Risk-Taking, Sex Behavior, HIV Infections, Research, Evaluation Studies, Sex Education, Health Services Needs and Demand, United States, China, India, Peru, Russia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Education, therapy

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