From Sculpting an Intervention to Healing in Action

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Social Epidemiology
• Health Disparities

Background:

• African Americans experience the most severe HIV burden in the U.S. due to interconnected socio-structural, institutional, community, and interpersonal oppression.
• Existing interventions often overlook systemic factors, focusing narrowly on individual behaviors, thus perpetuating health inequities.
• Racist and sexist cultural scripts transmitted interpersonally may contribute to HIV/STI risk within Black communities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and describe the theory and sociodramatic components of a novel intervention, *Black Men and Women: Empowering Self, Relationships and Community*.
• To address how this intervention aims to increase awareness of oppressive cultural scripts and promote action against them.
• To reduce HIV/STI risk among low-income, heterosexually identified African American men and women with multiple partners.

Main Methods:

• The intervention, *Black Men and Women: Empowering Self, Relationships and Community*, was developed by integrating elements from *Community Wise* and *Men of African American Legacy Empowering Self* (MAALES).
• It utilizes sociodramatic components to foster awareness of oppressive cultural scripts at interpersonal and intrapersonal levels.
• The intervention focuses on empowering participants to reclaim identity, restore relationships, and build community as a strategy for risk reduction.

Main Results:

• The paper details the theoretical underpinnings and specific sociodramatic techniques employed in the intervention.
• It highlights the intervention's focus on 'healing in action' to mitigate HIV/STI risk.
• Lessons learned from the intervention's development and implementation in theory, research, and practice are discussed.

Conclusions:

• The *Black Men and Women: Empowering Self, Relationships and Community* intervention offers a novel approach to address HIV/STI disparities by tackling oppressive cultural scripts.
• By focusing on empowerment and community, the intervention seeks to create sustainable change beyond individual behaviors.
• Addressing systemic and cultural factors is crucial for effective HIV/STI risk reduction in marginalized communities.