Psychosocial Outcomes of Sexual Risk Reduction in a Brief Intervention for Urban African American Female Adolescents.

This article describes psychosocial outcomes of a group randomized controlled trial of a friendship-based HIV/STI prevention intervention grounded in the AIDS Risk Reduction Model (ARRM). A total of 264 African American adolescent females were randomized to a single-session Project ÒRÉ HIV/STI prevention intervention or a nutrition/exercise health promotion intervention with their friendship group. At posttest, Project ÒRÉ participants scored higher on knowledge of HIV/STI prevention and protection (p < .

Ecological factors influencing HIV sexual risk and resilience among young people in rural Kenya: implications for prevention.

Most new HIV infections in Kenya occur among young people. The purpose of this study was to understand ecological factors that influence HIV-related sexual risk and resilience among young people in rural Kenya and to elicit their ideas for HIV prevention interventions. Nine focus groups (N = 199) were conducted with both female (55%) and male (45%) participants (ages 14-24 years) living in rural communities in Kenya.

Influences on Sexual Partnering Among African American Adolescents With Concurrent Sexual Relationships.

Adolescents often engage in concurrent sexual partnerships as part of a developmental process of gaining experience with sexuality. The authors qualitatively examined patterns of concurrency and variation in normative and motivational influences on this pattern of sexual partnering among African American adolescents (31 males; 20 females), ages 15 to 17 years. Using content analysis, gender and contextual differences in social norms and motivations for concurrency were explored.

Perspectives of community partners and researchers about factors impacting coalition functioning over time.

This study explored organizational and contextual factors impacting coalition functioning across 15 community-researcher coalitions that were formed to lower rates of HIV among youth. Mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) longitudinal data were collected from both community partners and researchers across three time points, and were analyzed to assess factors associated with initial coalition development and functioning. Specific facilitators of coalition functioning over time included developing group trust and cohesion, creating diverse coalition membership, developing a shared vision, and ensuring clarity of coalition purpose and goals.

Connect to Protect Researcher-Community Partnerships: Assessing Change in Successful Collaboration Factors over Time.

Fifteen research sites within the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions launched Connect to Protect community coalitions in urban areas across the United States and in Puerto Rico. Each coalition has the same overarching goal: Reducing local youth HIV rates by changing community structural elements such as programs, policies, and practices. These types of transformations can take significant amounts of time to achieve; thus, ongoing successful collaboration among coalition members is critical for success.

A quasi-experimental evaluation of a community-based HIV prevention intervention for Mexican American female adolescents: the SHERO's program.

This article describes a quasi-experimental evaluation of a community-based, culturally and ecologically tailored HIV prevention intervention for Mexican American female adolescents grounded in the AIDS risk reduction model. A total of 378 Mexican American female adolescents (mean age = 15.2) participated in either the nine-session SHERO's (a female-gendered version of the word hero) intervention or a single session information-only HIV prevention intervention.

Transdisciplinary research and evaluation for community health initiatives.

Transdisciplinary research and evaluation projects provide valuable opportunities to collaborate on interventions to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities. Given team members' diverse backgrounds and roles or responsibilities in such projects, members' perspectives are significant in strengthening a project's infrastructure and improving its organizational functioning. This article presents an evaluation mechanism that allows team members to express the successes and challenges incurred throughout their involvement in a multisite transdisciplinary research project.

Diverse phases of collaboration: working together to improve community-based HIV interventions for adolescents.

Although alliances between community-based organizations (CBOs) and university-based evaluators provide opportunities to enhance community-based interventions, such partnerships may be fraught with challenges and obstacles. This paper focuses on the "story" behind a collaborative partnership between a Latino-focused CBO and a team of university-based evaluators that was formed to evaluate HIV prevention interventions for Mexican American female adolescents and gay/bisexual/questioning (GBQ) Latino male adolescents. A developmental trajectory of the partnership is detailed, with a focus on the creation and enhancement of a reciprocal and mutually beneficial relationship.