DEVELOPMENT OF HIV TESTING PROMOTION PACKAGE FOR IDUS

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The proposed project will develop materials to promote HIV testing and early identification and treatment of HIV among African American IDUs. The materials will be in the form of a kit including strategies, examples of best practices, and sample materials designed to increase voluntary HIV testing rates and to change attitudes about testing so that it is perceived as a preventive and health sustaining tool. The kit will be designed for use by outreach programs, testing/counseling sites, and public health departments with an increasing interest in involving IDUs in HIV testing and counseling. In Phase I, a prototype kit will be developed using focus group research with IDUs and outreach workers as well as telephone interviews with directors of successful testing programs aimed at IDUs. In Phase II, the kit will be experimentally tested to determine a) its usefulness as an overall guide to action, b) its effect on program design and innovation, and c) its impact on testing and return rates for IDUs and partners. A final version of the kit will be produced, publicized, and marketed to city and state health departments, HIV testing and counseling sites, and outreach programs.