A Web-based HIV/STI Prevention Curriculum for Deaf High School Students

 描述(申请人提供)：拟议的基于网络的聋人青少年艾滋病/性传播感染预防课程将通过采用基于证据的艾滋病毒预防干预措施来降低弱势群体的艾滋病毒/性传播感染风险，该干预措施的关键组成部分是沟通、谈判和决策技能，这些技能也适用于其他健康和心理健康领域。这项建议响应了NIMH DAR 2014 SBIR的重点领域：开发创新的工具和培训方法，旨在提高辅导员或教育工作者的艾滋病毒预防课程的质量和交付，并开发新的信息技术工具，旨在改进基于证据的艾滋病毒/艾滋病行为减少风险干预措施的传播和实施。到目前为止，还没有任何基于证据的艾滋病毒预防干预措施被调整为对任何青少年人口“混合”使用基于网络的分娩。虽然预防艾滋病毒的努力似乎正在减缓艾滋病毒在美国目标成人群体中的传播，但人们越来越关注的是，13-17岁的青少年和18-25岁的年轻成年男性感染艾滋病毒的风险仍然很高。由于拟议课程利用基于网络的、经过改进的讲解视频和讲故事来交流复杂的社会情况和科学概念，因此其适用范围扩大到其他难以接触到的青少年亚群体，如其他族裔/少数群体和新移民。目前，没有满足聋人高中生文化和语言需求的艾滋病毒/性传播感染课程。由于性危险行为、聋人文化规范、基于学校的艾滋病毒预防计划不足以及无法获得艾滋病毒信息，聋人青年面临着更高的艾滋病毒风险。聋人高中生艾滋病知识水平较低，存在高危性行为。我们建议完成以证据为基础的艾滋病毒/性传播感染预防课程的调整，以满足聋人青年的需要。以证据为基础的艾滋病毒预防课程，最初是为普通听力青少年人群设计的，将通过两种方式进行调整：1)使其在文化和语言上适合聋人青少年；2)将课程的部分内容整理到网络上 以实现“混合式”课堂学习。这些都是技术的创新使用，正在以一种新的方式结合起来，以提高青少年艾滋病毒/性传播感染预防的有效性。美国手语的拟议课程旨在增加沟通、谈判和决策技能，并增加艾滋病毒/性传播感染知识。在聋人高中将使用准实验设计来评估有效性，在这种设计中，接受新课程的学生的班级将与对照组中随机分配的班级进行评估。该产品的市场包括美国所有的聋生高中和主流高中项目，以及服务于聋人青年的职业、娱乐、药物滥用和康复项目。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed Web-based ASL HIV/STI Prevention Curriculum for deaf adolescents will enable a reduction in HIV/STI risk in a vulnerable group by adapting an evidence-based HIV prevention intervention, key components of which are communication, negotiation, and decision making skills that are also applicable to other health and mental health areas. This proposal is responsive to the NIMH DAR 2014 SBIR Areas of Emphasis: develop innovative tools and training approaches designed to improve the quality and delivery of HIV prevention curricula by counselors, or educators and develop novel information technology tools designed to improve dissemination and implementation of evidence-based HIV/AIDS behavioral risk reduction interventions. To date, no evidence-based HIV prevention interventions have been adapted for the "blended" use of web-based delivery for any adolescent population. While HIV prevention efforts appear to be slowing the spread of HIV among targeted groups of adults in the US, it is of growing concern that adolescents ages 13-17 and young adult males ages 18-25 continue to be at high risk of contracting HIV. Because the proposed curriculum utilizes web-based, enhanced explanatory visuals and storytelling to communicate complex social situations and scientific concepts, its applicability extends to other hard-to-reach adolescent sub-populations such as other ethnic/minority groups and new immigrants. Currently, there is no HIV/STI curriculum available that meets the cultural and linguistic needs of deaf high school students. Deaf youth are at heightened HIV risk due to sexual risk behaviors, deaf cultural norms, inadequate school-based HIV prevention programs, and lack of access to HIV information. Deaf high school students have low levels of HIV knowledge and engage in high risk sexual risk behaviors. We propose to complete the adaptation of an evidenced- based HIV/STI prevention curriculum which will meet the needs deaf youth. An evidence-based HIV prevention curriculum, originally designed for a general hearing adolescent population will be adapted in two ways to: 1) make it culturally and linguistically appropriate for deaf youth and 2) put portions of the curriculum on the web in order to allow for "blended" classroom learning. These are innovative uses of technology which are being combined in a new way to enhance the effectiveness of HIV/STI prevention for adolescents. The proposed curriculum in ASL is designed to increase communication, and negotiation, and decision making skills, and to increase HIV/STI knowledge. Effectiveness will be evaluated in high schools for the deaf using a quasi-experimental design in which classes of students receiving the new curriculum will be evaluated against randomly assigned classes in a comparison group. The market for this product includes all high schools for deaf students and mainstream high school programs in the US as well as vocational, recreational, substance abuse, and rehabilitation programs which serve deaf youth.