Introduction
Latinos, including school-age youth, are a rapidly growing population in North Carolina. According to the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research (1999), "most Latinos in North Carolina are of low income and don't have health insurance" and "are highly dependent on health care facilities where they are more likely to receive free or reduced cost services." Latino teens in North Carolina are at high risk for STDs. Untreated, STDs can cause infertility, birth defects, cervical cancer, chronic pain and increased risk for HIV. However, early detection can prevent most of the lifelong consequences of STDs. Recent studies have shown that health promotion and STD/HIV prevention programs tailored to Latino communities are effective in reducing STDs, including HIV.
Objectives
Through this project, the American Social Health Association (ASHA), with funding from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, sought to:
- Increase levels of knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and skills among North Carolina?s Latino teens
- Create an STD prevention education project for North Carolina?s Latino youth and train peer health educators
- Increase the availability of bilingual, culturally appropriate STD prevention and education resources for Latino teens in the state, particularly in rural counties
Activities
- Phase I: ASHA created a bilingual comic-novela, De Aventuras a Calenturas, geared to North Carolina's Latino teens, which focused on STD risks and prevention and used cultural values to encourage STD prevention behaviors.
- Phase II: ASHA created and piloted a peer education curriculum, ¡SALSA! (STDs, Adolescents and Latinos: Sexual Health Awareness), to train local organizations and teens both on STD prevention knowledge and skills as well as techniques for training other Latino teens as peer educators.
- Phase III: ASHA conducted peer education trainings throughout the state, which fostered the development of many adolescent Latinos to serve as educational resources for their community
Outcomes
The novela follows the success of ASHA's first fotonovela for Latina women, which was extremely well received by both the Latino community and health care providers in the state. Health and social service providers in 15 counties requested over 5,000 copies of the fotonovela, and they provided valuable feedback regarding its usefulness. This success clearly reflects the importance of and demand for culturally appropriate STD/HIV prevention information for the Latino population in North Carolina.
For more information
Nuestra Comunidad- Latinos in North Carolina
Hispanics and STDs - A Fact Sheet
Contact Information
This project is completed. If you would like to let us know how this project or any of the associated resources have been used in your work, please contact us at P&RFeedback@ashastd.org.
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