HIV and AIDS Intervention Development

Techniques used: Community advisory boards, focus groups

In addition to a primary interest in HIV prevention, the broader goal of HHD’s Keep It Up project is to market health promotion to a population of black men who bear a disproportionate burden not only of HIV and AIDS, but also other health problems—hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, asthma, obesity, and other sexually transmitted infections—that contribute to ongoing health disparities.

Extensive community input, including multiple waves of focus groups, and creative expertise have informed the development of an intervention that draws on social marketing principles and diffusion of innovation theory. The intervention consists of four core elements: a social marketing campaign designed with members of the community and expert advisors; screening for HIV as well as other health problems, developed in conjunction with community health providers; a computerized HIV risk reduction learning module; and a personalized health profile and risk reduction plan. This intervention will be tested in a rigorous experimental trial.