A student-driven HIV/PrEP communication intervention using a modified social network strategy.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Communication
• Social Network Strategy

Background:

• Peer-education is a vital component of health interventions, particularly for sexually transmitted infections like HIV.
• Understanding student experiences in delivering health education is crucial for program improvement and engagement.
• The Social Network Strategy (SNS) offers a framework for analyzing social interactions and influences within educational projects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine college students' experiences when providing peer-education on HIV-Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).
• To assess the utility of a modified Social Network Strategy (SNS) in understanding these experiences.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of peer-delivered HIV-PrEP health interventions in a high-transmission area.

Main Methods:

• Ninety-six college students participated in the study during the 2018 academic year.
• A cross-sectional assessment using open-ended prompts collected narrative responses from students administering the HIV-PrEP intervention.
• Qualitative content analysis was employed to identify Social Network Strategy (SNS) codes and their frequencies.

Main Results:

• Student responses were overwhelmingly supportive of the community engagement project.
• The most frequent narrative themes included health communication (44.4%), specifically counseling, testing, and referral (CTR) communication.
• Student self-influences, such as personal learning and health choices, were also significant (28.7%).

Conclusions:

• A modified Social Network Strategy (SNS) proved effective in supporting undergraduates delivering HIV-PrEP training.
• The findings highlight the value of peer-education in public health initiatives, especially in high-HIV-prevalence regions.
• This approach demonstrates potential for enhancing health communication and student engagement in university settings.