Reducing the Risk of HIV/AIDS in African American College Students

Abstract

This study explores the impact of a peer-led HIV intervention, based on the health belief model and social cognitive theory of behavior change, on a sample of African American college students. Certified peer educators were trained by the researcher to implement the four-module HIV prevention intervention. Pre-/postassessments revealed that after the intervention, students were less embarrassed to put a condom on themselves or on their partner, were more likely to use a condom, and ask their sex partner if they had ever been tested for HIV. It was concluded that peer education, which focuses on susceptibility, severity, benefits, self-efficacy (components of the health belief model), skill building, and peer influence (social cognitive theory) is an effective strategy in reducing HIV risk behaviors among African American college students.

Effects of Peer Sexual Health Education on College Campuses: A Systematic Review

“…The studies were conducted in various countries: two in Turkey, one in Malaysia, one in Kenya, and four in the United States. Using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies, we rated one randomized controlled trial (RCT) as strong and the other three RCTs as moderate (Table 2; Bulduk & Erdogan, 2012; Calloway, Long-White, & Corbin, 2014; Ergene, Çok, Tümer, & Ünal, 2005; Jahanfar, Lye, & Rampal, 2009). One of the three RCTs was rated as moderate because documentation for withdrawal and dropout was weak (Jahanfar et al, 2009).…”

“…Another RCT was rated as moderate because there was a lack of information about withdrawal and dropout, and because the analysis was posttest only and did not include a pretest (Ergene et al, 2005). The third RCT was rated as moderate because there was missing information about selection bias, blinding, validity of data collection tools, and because there was a high dropout rate (Calloway et al, 2014). One quasi-experimental study had a quality rating of strong because the study well represented the target population of peer educators, clearly described confounders, blinding, data collection, and attrition (Ehrhardt, Krumboltz, & Koopman, 2007).…”

From Their Voices: Barriers to HIV Testing among Black Men Who Have Sex with Men Remain

“…However, the participants recommended that interventions using social media should still include a street-based peer-outreach component; young BMSM at high risk for HIV may have limited access or inconsistent use of social media. Peer-based approaches have been useful for influencing health behaviors among many subgroups, including young minority men who have sex with men [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. Similarly, street-based approaches have been successfully used most often to influence health behaviors among sex workers and injection drug users [ 42 , 43 ].…”

Does Self-Efficacy Mediate the Relationships Between Social-Cognitive Factors and Intentions to Receive HPV Vaccination Among Young Women?

“…Evidence of mediation would suggest that self-efficacy may be an important target for theory-based interventions promoting HPV vaccination. Self-efficacy has been successfully targeted in other health behavior change interventions for young adults, including interventions to reduce HIV risk behaviors (Calloway, Long-White, & Corbin, 2014), increase dairy intake (Poddar, Hosig, Anderson, Nickols-Richardson, & Duncan, 2010), and reduce alcohol risk behaviors (Bock et al, 2016).…”