Skip to main content
PMC home page
Public Health Reports logoLink to Public Health Reports
. 1996;111(Suppl 1):41–49.

Developing community networks to deliver HIV prevention interventions.

C Guenther-Grey 1, D Noroian 1, J Fonseka 1, D Higgins 1
PMCID: PMC1382042  PMID: 8862156

Abstract

Outreach has a long history in health and social service programs as an important method for reaching at-risk persons within their communities. One method of "outreach" is based on the recruitment of networks of community members (or "networkers") to deliver HIV prevention messages and materials in the context of their social networks and everyday lives. This paper documents the experiences of the AIDS Community Demonstration Projects in recruiting networkers to deliver HIV prevention interventions to high-risk populations, including injecting drug users not in treatment; female sex partners of injecting drug users; female sex traders; men who have sex with men but do not self-identify as gay; and youth in high-risk situations. The authors interviewed project staff and reviewed project records of the implementation of community networks in five cities. Across cities, the projects successfully recruited persons into one or more community networks to distribute small media materials, condoms, and bleach kits, and encourage risk-reduction behaviors among community members. Networkers' continuing participation was enlisted through a variety of monetary and nonmonetary incentives. While continuous recruitment of networkers was necessary due to attrition, most interventions reported maintaining a core group of networkers. In addition, the projects appeared to serve as a starting point for some networkers to become more active in other community events and issues.

Full text

PDF
44

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Abdul-Quader A. S., Des Jarlais D. C., Tross S., McCoy E., Morales G., Velez I. Outreach to injecting drug users and female sexual partners of drug users on the lower east side of New York City. Br J Addict. 1992 May;87(5):681–688. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1992.tb02713.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Corby N. H., Enguídanos S. M., Kay L. S. Development and use of role model stories in a community level HIV risk reduction intervention. Public Health Rep. 1996;111 (Suppl 1):54–58. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Grund J. P., Blanken P., Adriaans N. F., Kaplan C. D., Barendregt C., Meeuwsen M. Reaching the unreached: targeting hidden IDU populations with clean needles via known user groups. J Psychoactive Drugs. 1992 Jan-Mar;24(1):41–47. doi: 10.1080/02791072.1992.10471617. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Higgins D. L., O'Reilly K., Tashima N., Crain C., Beeker C., Goldbaum G., Elifson C. S., Galavotti C., Guenther-Grey C. Using formative research to lay the foundation for community level HIV prevention efforts: an example from the AIDS Community Demonstration Projects. Public Health Rep. 1996;111 (Suppl 1):28–35. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kelly J. A., St Lawrence J. S., Diaz Y. E., Stevenson L. Y., Hauth A. C., Brasfield T. L., Kalichman S. C., Smith J. E., Andrew M. E. HIV risk behavior reduction following intervention with key opinion leaders of population: an experimental analysis. Am J Public Health. 1991 Feb;81(2):168–171. doi: 10.2105/ajph.81.2.168. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. McAlister A. L. Population behavior change: a theory-based approach. J Public Health Policy. 1991 Autumn;12(3):345–361. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. McAlister A. L., Ramirez A. G., Amezcua C., Pulley L. V., Stern M. P., Mercado S. Smoking cessation in Texas-Mexico border communities: a quasi-experimental panel study. Am J Health Promot. 1992 Mar-Apr;6(4):274–279. doi: 10.4278/0890-1171-6.4.274. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. O'Reilly K. R., Higgins D. L. AIDS Community Demonstration Projects for HIV prevention among hard-to-reach groups. Public Health Rep. 1991 Nov-Dec;106(6):714–720. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Puska P., Nissinen A., Tuomilehto J., Salonen J. T., Koskela K., McAlister A., Kottke T. E., Maccoby N., Farquhar J. W. The community-based strategy to prevent coronary heart disease: conclusions from the ten years of the North Karelia project. Annu Rev Public Health. 1985;6:147–193. doi: 10.1146/annurev.pu.06.050185.001051. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Simons P. Z., Rietmeijer C. A., Kane M. S., Guenther-Grey C., Higgins D. L., Cohn D. L. Building a peer network for a community level HIV prevention program among injecting drug users in Denver. Public Health Rep. 1996;111 (Suppl 1):50–53. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Public Health Reports are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES