HIV PREVENTION IN TEENS: A PEER-MENTORING STRATEGY

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The revised Phase I feasibility study will develop and test a mentor-training CD-ROM designed to help high school juniors and seniors learn HIV prevention information and mentoring strategies in an efficient and non-threatening manner. The purpose of the proposed product is to improve HIV prevention among adolescents by combining two successful elements of existing prevention programs: peer mentoring and interactive software. In the revised Phase I application we will focus on software content development and feasibility testing. Our research aims to gather initial evidence in support of the hypothesis that adolescents' comfort and interest in engaging in the initial stages of learning HIV prevention strategies is higher using a non-threatening computer modality, than when this information is provided by adults. Toward this aim, in Phase I we will recruit 45 students from a single high school in Brooklyn, NY to participate in testing our software. Phase I will use a non-comparative study design in which data are gathered from surveys asking students to evaluate the ease of use and content-appropriateness of the software, as well as to evaluate their comfort using the mentor-training software to learn prevention techniques, relative to what they believe their comfort would be learning the same information from adult health educators. If Phase I is successful, Phase II support will be pursued to fully test the HIV prevention efficacy of the mentor-training software in a randomized trial in which schools are assigned to receive 1) the intervention, comprised of the mentor-training CD-ROM, coaching from research and school staff, and mentoring sessions; 2) a standard of care HIV prevention program; and 3) no formal HIV prevention intervention. Phase III will entail commercialization of the mentor-training CD-ROM, and accompanying manuals of instruction for school staff coaching and supervision, for efficient and consistent use in high school health science curricula.