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HIV prevention workshops for street youth in St. Petersburg, Russia
R. Yorick1, E. King2, A. Shaboltas1, E. Finnerty3, A. Lynch3, V. Tripathi3, Y. Batluk1, L. Talikowski1, T. Ornstein3, S. Hanck3
1HealthRight International, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, 2University of North Carolina, School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, United States, 3HealthRight International, New York, United States
Background: In 2006, HealthRight International (formerly Doctors of the World-USA) and the CDC conducted a HIV seroprevalence survey among St. Petersburg street youth which found a 37.4% prevalence rate. To stem the spread of HIV among street youth, HealthRight developed a ten-session behavior change communication (BCC) intervention at its Drop-In Centers (DICs) that is tailored to the cognitive level of street youth and addresses the specific nature and level of risk confronting this target group.
Methods: To measure the effectiveness of its intervention, HealthRight evaluated these workshops across 5-week cycles using a structured interview-based survey, individual skill-assessment observation and focus groups to identify the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of 132 street and at-risk children and youth clients regarding the HIV risks of sex and drug use and their threshold to refuse engagement in these behaviors. The survey was conducted as a pre- and post-intervention assessment, and four-month follow-up survey.
Results: The participants' HIV-related knowledge increased from a mean score of 8.10 (out of a possible 15 points) to a post-intervention mean score of 10.46 (p value < .0001). Condom use skills improved from mean 3.47 to 5.89 out of 7 points (p< .0001). Statistically significant improvements in attitudes included attitudes towards PLWHA, ability to protect from HIV, resisting peer pressure, and others. Of the youth who participated in the four month follow-up assessment, the mean score on the knowledge test was a very high 12 out of 15. 224 youth have participated in the workshops since the intervention's launch in 2007 with >50% participating in >5 sessions.
Conclusions: BCC workshops were demonstrated as an effective HIV prevention tool among street youth. Increasing the population coverage with BCC activities requires building the network of DICs in the city. It can be recommended for use among other young at-risk groups, such as institutionalized youth.
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