Project R

1
Project ÒRÉ

• Investigative Team
• M.Margaret Dolcini, Ph.D., Gary W Harper, Ph.D.,
  MPH,
• Cherrie Boyer, Ph.D., Heneliaka Jones, B.S.,
  Cassandra Perkins, Muszetta Jones Smith, B.S.,
  Rayshone Bow, Stacey Mills, Danetta Cowliah,
  India Alexis, B.A., Kristin Burnett
• In Cooperation With
• Bayview Hunters Point Library, Bayview Hunters
  Point YMCA, Bayview Hunters Point Foundation,
  Booker T. Washington Community Center, Hawkins
  Village, Potrero Hill Neighborhood House

Funded by The National Institutes of Health
through the Adolescent Trails Network (PI, Craig
Wilson, MD)
2

• Sexually active African American adolescent
  females are at high risk for HIV and other STIs
• Effective interventions must be tailored to meet
  the needs of the specific priority population
• The present study builds on prior research by
  this group on inner city youths social
  relationships and sexual health and tests a novel
  friendship based intervention developed for this
  population

3
Prior research indicates that

• Inner city African American youth have close same
  gender friendship networks, with shared norms
  regarding sex and drug use
• Friends share information about sex and dating
  and sometimes influence how romantic and sexual
  relationships unfold
• Friendships tend to be stable, thus making
  friendships based interventions feasible

4

• We developed and pilot tested a novel friendship
  based intervention with African American youth
  aged 14-21 years
• Based on promising pilot data we were funded to
  conduct a group randomized controlled trial of
  our intervention

5
Study Design
Neighborhoods (4 groups) randomized to
Attention Neighborhoods (2)
Experimental Neighborhoods (2)
Pre-Screen index cased for eligibility Female,
African American, age 14-18, sexually
experienced, and conduct informed consent
Index Cases identify and recruit 2-5 eligible
friends to participate. Determine friend's
eligibility conduct informed consent
Give pre-workshop questionnaire to all
participants (Index cases and friends recruited)
Attention Control Condition Health intervention
35 groups (132 participants)
Experimental Condition Project ÒRÉ Intervention
35 groups (133 participants)
Post-workshop questionnaire (all participants
from both conditions)
3 month follow-up questionnaire (all participants
from both conditions)
6
Intervention Development

• Used data from longitudinal study, focus groups,
  qualitative interviews, clinical experience, and
  other interventions
• Incorporated input from two consultants and youth
  in the community
• Incorporated rite of passage rituals,
  community-specific risk data, and videos made
  with community youth
• Emphasized issues of connectedness among friends
  and friends protecting friends
• Specific modules focus on theoretically important
  dimensions of the AIDS Risk Reduction Model
  (ARRM) and are highly interactive

7
Lessons Learned

• Knowing the community and the dynamics of the
  priority population enhances our ability to
  develop strong programs
• Novel programs can be developed that build on
  prior scientific knowledge and incorporate
  community specific information
• A friendship based HIV/STI program was well
  accepted by African American young women in the
  study communities