The evaluation of targeted outreach in an adolescent HIV/AIDS program

Most HIV infected youth are unaware of their serostatus. Among adolescents who know they are HIV positive, only a small percentage are currently receiving care in age-specific programs. Establishing effective links between prevention and service programs is critical in reaching this group of young people.

A specific outreach strategy was designed to develop more referrals from a wider variety of agencies to better serve youth at risk for HIV. A needs assessment of community-based agencies was the basis for: 1. overcoming barriers to care, 2. specifying the target population, 3. assessing existing referrals, and 4. selecting agencies for different levels of intensity of outreach.

Six barriers faced by potential referring agencies were identified and corresponding solutions created which were incorporated into the outreach strategy. A comparison was made of referrals in the years before, during and after the outreach strategy was instituted. A significant difference by (chi 2 analysis) was noted in the number of agencies (p < 0.05), number of individuals (p < 0.01), number of appointments kept (p < 0.01), and the number of HIV+ youth enrolled (p < 0.01) during the year when the plan was fully implemented compared to previous and subsequent years.

Systematic targeted outreach programs are an efficient way to maximize the time and effort of outreach staff. The result was an increase in the number and diversifity of referrals. This strategy could be used by groups caring for adults or younger children who want to expand services to include adolescents or by groups providing HIV/AIDS care who want to specifically serve adolescents.