Comparing Knowledge Of Sexual Risk Behavior In Hiv/Aids Prevention Between Teens Participating In Becoming A Responsible Teen (Bart) Program And Teens Participating In A Summer Youth Development Program
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Date
2016
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Department
Public Health and Policy
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Doctor of Public Health
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This item is made available by Morgan State University for personal, educational, and research purposes in accordance with Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Other uses may require permission from the copyright owner.
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Abstract
HIV/AIDS is a global pandemic of public health importance and continues to cause devastating effects globally with associated high morbidity and mortality. There are about 35 million people living with HIV worldwide, 1.2 million in the United States of which 25% occur in young people age 13–24. Maryland ranked second highest among 50 states in HIV diagnosis in 2013. HIV/AIDS incidence in Baltimore City are among the highest nationwide and compares with developing countries. African American adolescents maintain a high burden of HIV/AIDS. Knowledge gaps are significant factors contributing to increasing sexual risk behaviors. Medical treatment alone cannot prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Evidence-based behavioral intervention programs reduce the risk and spread of HIV infection. The Becoming a Responsible Teen (BART) program is a behavioral change program that increases knowledge and teaches skills to reduce sexual risk taking. Hypothesis - Participation in a structured evidence-based HIV/STD prevention intervention program Becoming a Responsible Teen (BART) is not significantly different from a non-evidence-based Youth Development Summer Program (known as NBART in the Control Group) in increasing knowledge of sexual risk behavior in HIV/AIDS prevention. This dissertation is a secondary analysis of data collected from the Women Accepting Responsibility (WAR) Inc. data which includes 306 students who participated in the BART program and 152 students who participated in a Summer Youth Development program. BART and NBART participants had approximately the same level of knowledge prior to the interventions (56% and 57.6%, respectively). After the interventions, BART participants performed significantly better than NBART participants (83.5% vs. 66.6%). The efficiency is present across both genders and age brackets and is evident regardless of the metric used (post-test score or gain score). No differences exist between the gender or age groups when ignoring the intervention type. Implementation of the BART program in Baltimore City is significantly different from NBART in increasing knowledge of sexual risk behavior in HIV prevention.