HIV /STD Prevention Program for Middle School Students

描述(申请人提供)：本研究将开发和评估针对中学生的多成分HIV、STD和怀孕预防干预措施。研究设计将包括在德克萨斯州休斯敦的16所市中心中学进行的随机对照试验。大约1000名7年级学生将被招募到这项研究中，并将在两年内进行跟踪调查。干预将包括适合年龄的课堂课程和在7年级和8年级提供的基于光盘的量身定做的干预。该课程由训练有素的辅导员讲授，重点是拒绝和沟通技能、健康的人际关系、态度、自我效能以及与约会和性行为有关的同伴规范。它将改编自现有的艾滋病毒、性传播疾病和怀孕预防课程《更安全的选择》，该课程已被证明在减少高中生性风险行为方面有效。鉴于中学生身体和情感发育的范围，学生还将通过基于光盘的艾滋病毒、性传播疾病和怀孕预防干预获得个性化的学习机会，该干预将根据学生目前的约会和性行为行为或意图提供信息、资源和技能培养练习。将通过评估性冒险行为(不发生性行为的学生比例、目前性活跃的学生发生无保护措施的性行为比例、性伴侣数量)来评估干预的效果。由于社区协作对于在中学层面成功实施HIV/STD预防计划至关重要，我们将与学区人员、教师、家长和社区代表密切合作，开发一种模式，以获取社区为基础的投入和支持，以制定和实施计划。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This study will develop and evaluate a multi-component HIV, STD and pregnancy prevention intervention for middle school students. The study design will consist of a randomized controlled trial conducted in sixteen inner-city middle schools in Houston, Texas. Approximately 1000 7th grade students will be recruited into the study and will be followed over a two-year period. The intervention will consist of an age-appropriate classroom curriculum and a CD-ROM-based tailored intervention delivered in 7th and 8th grade. The curriculum, delivered by trained facilitators, will focus on refusal and communication skills, healthy relationships, attitudes, self-efficacy and peer norms related to dating and sexual behavior. It will be adapted from an existing HIV, STD and pregnancy prevention curriculum Safer Choices, which has been shown to be effective at reducing sexual risk-taking behavior among high school students. Given the range in physical and emotional development among middle school youth, students will also receive individualized learning opportunities by means of a CD-ROM-based HIV, STD and pregnancy prevention intervention which will provide information, resources and skill-building exercises tailored to the student's current behavior or intentions regarding dating and sexual behavior. The effect of the intervention will be evaluated by assessing sexual risk-taking behaviors (proportion of students not having sex, proportion of currently sexually active students who have unprotected sex, number of sexual partners). Since community collaboration is essential for successful implementation of HIV/STD prevention programs at the middle school level, we shall work closely with school district personnel, teachers, parents and community representatives to develop a model for obtaining -community-based input and support for program development and implementation.