A Web-based HIV/STI Prevention Curriculum for Deaf High School Students

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant The proposed Web based ASL HIV STI Prevention Curriculum for deaf adolescents will enable a reduction in HIV STI risk in a vulnerable group by adapting an evidence based HIV prevention intervention key components of which are communication negotiation and decision making skills that are also applicable to other health and mental health areas This proposal is responsive to the NIMH DAR SBIR Areas of Emphasis develop innovative tools and training approaches designed to improve the quality and delivery of HIV prevention curricula by counselors or educators and develop novel information technology tools designed to improve dissemination and implementation of evidence based HIV AIDS behavioral risk reduction interventions To date no evidence based HIV prevention interventions have been adapted for the andquot blendedandquot use of web based delivery for any adolescent population While HIV prevention efforts appear to be slowing the spread of HIV among targeted groups of adults in the US it is of growing concern that adolescents ages and young adult males ages continue to be at high risk of contracting HIV Because the proposed curriculum utilizes web based enhanced explanatory visuals and storytelling to communicate complex social situations and scientific concepts its applicability extends to other hard to reach adolescent sub populations such as other ethnic minority groups and new immigrants Currently there is no HIV STI curriculum available that meets the cultural and linguistic needs of deaf high school students Deaf youth are at heightened HIV risk due to sexual risk behaviors deaf cultural norms inadequate school based HIV prevention programs and lack of access to HIV information Deaf high school students have low levels of HIV knowledge and engage in high risk sexual risk behaviors We propose to complete the adaptation of an evidenced based HIV STI prevention curriculum which will meet the needs deaf youth An evidence based HIV prevention curriculum originally designed for a general hearing adolescent population will be adapted in two ways to make it culturally and linguistically appropriate for deaf youth and put portions of the curriculum on the web in order to allow for andquot blendedandquot classroom learning These are innovative uses of technology which are being combined in a new way to enhance the effectiveness of HIV STI prevention for adolescents The proposed curriculum in ASL is designed to increase communication and negotiation and decision making skills and to increase HIV STI knowledge Effectiveness will be evaluated in high schools for the deaf using a quasi experimental design in which classes of students receiving the new curriculum will be evaluated against randomly assigned classes in a comparison group The market for this product includes all high schools for deaf students and mainstream high school programs in the US as well as vocational recreational substance abuse and rehabilitation programs which serve deaf youth PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Deaf adolescents are at risk for acquiring HIV and STIs Currently there are no school based HIV STI prevention materials available that are deaf specific This proposal will develop a web based blended learning HIV STI prevention curriculum that includes communication negotiation skills for use in high schools where deaf students are educated