Adapting a Youth Sexual Violence Prevention Logic Model and Evaluation to Asian American and Pacific Islander Youth...

Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) youth report a high prevalence rate of youth violence. Logic models that guide violence prevention programming are often not culturally specific and may not address the unique structural/social drivers of youth violence in minoritized communities. Monsoon has received Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) funding from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS) since 2007 through a competitive application process. The specific aim of Monsoon's Youth Sexual Violence Prevention Program (YVPP) is to "prevent gender-based violence by educating and empowering peers through outreach and workshops." In response to growing awareness at Iowa HHS about the limitations of the State RPE programmatic logic model in addressing AAPI-specific context for youth violence, Monsoon received additional RPE funds to establish the first culturally specific RPE logic model in Iowa. This initiative aims to fill a gap in culturally relevant evaluation resources. This paper describes the academic-community partnership initiated in 2023 that guided the participatory development of the culturally specific logic model and evaluation plan, for youth violence prevention in AAPI communities. Monsoon partnered with staff and faculty from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded Prevention Research Center for Rural Health (PRC-RH) in this work. PRC-RH faculty and staff reviewed documents and interviewed Monsoon leaders and youth staff. An AAPI-specific youth staff logic model and evaluation research questions were developed using a community-based research approach. Based on these, a mixed-methods evaluation plan was outlined. This case study highlights the critical importance of community-engaged research and practice to develop culturally specific logic models and evaluation designs for youth sexual violence prevention in the AAPI community.