Cuidemos+Nuestra+Salud

Download a PDF of this page ** Cuidemos Nuestra Salud: Sustainable community-based participatory research ** Lydia Greiner, Assistant Professor, Fairfield University [lgreiner@fairfield.edu]

Philip Greiner, Director, School of Nursing, San Diego State University [pgreiner@mail.sdsu.edu]

Marisol del Carmen Morales Vega, Director, Prescolar Amigos por Siempre [marisolmv10@hotmail.com]

Laurie Cordua, Director of Academic Cooperation and Internationalization, Universidad Centroamericana [laurie@ns.uca.edu.ni]

Vilma Alvarez, Professor, Universidad Centroamericana [vilma3462@gmail.com]


 * Keywords**: HIV/AIDS education, Nicaragua, DVD, program evaluation, community-based participatory research


 * Conference track**: Global community engagement and comparative studies


 * Format**: Team inquiry presentation

Cuidemos Nuestra Salud is a sustainable program of community‐based participatory research (CBPR) conducted by an international team of university faculty and students and community members in Managua, Nicaragua. This presentation reports on the planning, implementation, and evaluation of a community‐based HIV/AIDs education initiative.
 * Summary**

The CBPR project (Mosavel, Simon, van Stade, & Buchbinder, 2005) began with a community assessment focused on community strengths, challenges, and health related concerns. Assessment methods included interviews with a convenience sample of 50 families, interviews with community leaders, and focus groups with parents and teachers. Data from the assessment were summarized and discussed with community partners who identified HIV/AIDS as a priority, focusing on misconceptions about transmission and stigmatization. Further discussion led to agreement that an educational intervention was needed. Community partners recommended using a DVD format so that residents could review the materials in the privacy of their homes.

A pre‐test/post‐test design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention using a structured interview designed to assess attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge about HIV/AIDS in Nicaraguans (Manji, Peña & Dubrow, 2007).

A total of 175 of the 400 households in the community completed the pre-test interview and accepted an educational DVD; 68 households had at least one member who also completed the post-test interview administered three months later. Of those, 59 provided complete responses to all 14 questions about HIV transmission and were used for the analysis reported here. Pre-test results suggest significant health implications. Of most concern is the lack of recognition of HIV transmission by oral sex or by a person who has the virus but “looks healthy”; 25% and 40% of participants, respectively, responded incorrectly. A paired t‐test of mean difference revealed an average increase of one correct response (p <.001) following the intervention, suggesting that knowledge about HIV transmission increased.

Mosavel, M., Simon, C., van Stade, D., & Buchbinder, M. (2005). Community-based participatory research (CBPR) in South Africa: Engaging multiple constituents to shape the research question. //Social Science and Medicine//, 61, 2577–2587.
 * References**

Manji, A., Peña, R., & Dubrow, R. (2007). Sex, condoms, gender roles, and HIV transmission knowledge among adolescents in León, Nicaragua: Implications for HIV prevention. //AIDS Care//, 19, 989–995.


 * To access materials from this session please click on the file link(s) below:**

include component="comments" page="Cuidemos Nuestra Salud" limit="50"