Project: HIV prevention for incarcerated youth in Indiana

Both Indiana and national statistics suggest that HIV-AIDS cases continue to rise in the adolescent population. Because of environmental factors, incarcerated adolescents may be at a greater risk of exposure to HIV-AIDS. Educational programs, such as the one funded for this project, may be an important step in impacting the current pandemic nature of HIV-AIDS. An educational project consisting of 4 peer-based, interactive sessions was developed for incarcerated adolescents in a north central Indiana juvenile center. The project sessions were developed from the National Network of Runaway and Youth Services (1994). Project objectives were based on the AIDS Risk Reduction Model (ARRM) and were measured by a 40-item tool developed from the ARRM. Project objectives were as follows: Detainees would (a) participate in 4 educational sessions related to high-risk sexual behavior, (b) recognize and label their own sexual behaviors that put them at risk for contracting AIDS, and (c) make a commitment to reduce high-risk sexual behaviors. During the first year of state funding, 91 educational sessions were conducted, reaching a total of 196 detainees. Following comparisons of the preproject and postproject questionnaires, detainees demonstrated an increase in their ability to appropriately recognize and label risky behaviors, but they evidenced no significant commitment to change their behaviors.