Brookdale
University Hospital and Medical
Center
Treatment for
Life Center
1 Brookdale Plaza
Brooklyn, NY 11212-3198
Phone: 718-240-6190
Fax: 718-240-6637
Project
Title: Zanmi ede Zanmi (Friends
Helping Friends)
Project
Period: 2003-07
Target
Population: Haitians living
with HIV or AIDS in East Brooklyn,
NY
Description:
This project will examine the
development and impact of a culturally
specific peer support intervention
targeting Caribbeans living in
the awardee's general service
area. The project will identify
endemic and culturally specific
barriers to care, develop a cadre
of peer promoters to assist persons
in need of services with overcoming
such barriers, implement small
group and individualized health
education sessions to assist clients
with engaging in medical care
and using support services. The
awardee will conduct a process
and outcome evaluation of the
project, using an intervention
group and a comparison group design.
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Community
Healthcare Network
79 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212-366-4500
Fax:
646-312-0481
Project
Title: Caribbean Access Initiative
Project
Period: 2003-07
Target
Population: Jamaican and Trinidadian/Tobagonian
immigrants who are HIV-infected
and residing in the Bedford-Stuyvesant,
Crown Heights, Flatbush and East
New York communities of Brooklyn,
New York
Collaborating
Partners: STAR Health Center
at SUNY Downstate Medical Center
in Brooklyn, and the New York
State Psychiatric Institute/Research
Foundation for Mental Hygiene,
Inc./HIV Center for Clinical and
Behavioral Studies at Columbia
University
Description:
Caribbean immigrants are disproportionately
affected by HIV/AIDS and face
numerous barriers to accessing
HIV/AIDS care in the U.S. The
Caribbean Access Initiative is
an empowerment-based, culturally
consistent peer-support intervention
specifically tailored to address
the unique challenges faced by
HIV-positive Caribbean immigrants.
This
HRSA-SPNS demonstration project
implemented by Community Healthcare
Network, a consortium of eight
community clinics in NYC, is designed
to (1) increase participants'
knowledge and understanding of
HIV, HIV treatment options and
the service delivery system; (2)
reduce barriers to care through
skill development; (3) identify
effective strategies to increase
timely and consistent use of appropriate
HIV medical care and ancillary
services; and (4) utilize innovative
outreach methods, including snowball
sampling, to engage this hard-to-reach
population.
The
intervention consists of six intensive
group sessions and twelve individual
peer-participant sessions. Group
process enhances peer support
by providing a supportive, non-threatening
environment to experiment with
new behavior and skills and to
receive feedback. Strategies include
culturally relevant person-centered
participatory approaches, didactic
role-playing and vignette analysis.
Group session topics include HIV
education and myth deconstruction;
navigation of the health care
system; nutrition and access to
ancillary services; male/female
condoms; coping skills; and self-efficacy.
A Caribbean PLWHA advisory board
and key informant interviews frame
session content.
Trained
peer educators facilitate outreach
and intervention sessions. Peer
educators are of Jamaican and
Trinidadian/Tobagonian origin,
are HIV-positive and reside in
the same NYC communities as participants.
Peers receive rigorous preparation
in the areas of HIV/AIDS education,
creating therapeutic environments,
effective communication, crisis
intervention, group process and
burnout prevention.
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Lutheran
Medical Center
Caribbean-American Family Health
Center
150 55th St
Brooklyn, NY 11220
Phone: 718-431-2610
Fax: 718-436-7810
Project
Title: Targeted Intervention of
Peer Support (TIPS)
Project
Period: 2003-07
Target
Population: HIV-infected Trinidadians
in the Flatbush, Crown Heights,
and Bedford-Styvesant neighborhoods
of Brooklyn, NY, with a particular
focus on women
Collaborating
Organizations: Caribbean Women's
Health Association, the Special
Care Immunology Services program
at Lutheran Medical Center
Description:
The TIPS project will use peer
educators to conduct a culturally-specific
individual and community level
intervention to communicate HIV
related information and influence
community norms and values regarding
use of HIV related services. Specific
goals are to increase knowledge
of HIV infection among the target
population, increase understanding
of HIV treatment options and the
service delivery system, and increase
entry into appropriate HIV medical
care. Recipients of peer services
will be compared to a similar
group not receiving services.
Evaluation strategies that will
be pursued are:
- Process
evaluation during the project;
- Outcomes
measurement of the intervention
at the time of its conclusion;
- Descriptive
evaluation of intervention and
comparison groups;
- Measurement
of duration and intensity (dose)
of the intervention;
- Measurement
of effects on client and community
characteristics.
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University
of Miami
School of Medicine, Departments
of Medicine (Division of Infectious
Disease) and Epidemiology and
Public Health
1500 NW 12th Avenue, 8th Floor
West
Miami, FL 33136
Phone: 305-243-3011
Fax: 305-243-3005
Project
Title: Enabling Haitians Access
to Needed Care (ENHANCE)
Project
Period: 2003-07
Target
Population: Haitians living
with HIV or AIDS in the Miami-Dade
County area
Collaborating
Organizations: Jackson Memorial
Hospital in Miami, FL
Description:
The project will develop, implement,
and evaluate a theory-guided peer
intervention that seeks to enhance
use of HIV-oriented primary medical
care and ancillary services by
the target population. Specific
focus will be on persons enrolled
in care who have not seen a primary
care provider for at least six
months. Follow-up assessments
will be conducted at six month
intervals to assess the proportion
of persons who increase use of
medical care and ancillary services.
The intent is to improve the transition
of Haitians from hospital care
at Jackson Memorial Hospital to
outpatient care.
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Montefiore
Medical Center
Department of Family Medicine
and Community Health
111 East 210th Street
Bronx, NY 10467
Phone: 718-920-2918
Fax: 718-515-5416
Project
Title: Targeted Peer Support
and Model Development
Project
Period: 2003-07
Target
Population: Jamaicans living
with HIV or AIDS
Description:
This project will develop
a culturally-specific peer outreach
and small group intervention among
HIV-infected Jamaicans living
in the North Bronx. The project's
goals are to increase use of HIV-oriented
primary medical care, mental health
care, and case management. Peer
outreach workers will provide
current information on HIV and
treatment options, address cultural
practices and meanings related
to sexuality and HIV, and assist
patients with support services
such as nutrition education, transportation,
and child care. Civic leaders,
clergy, and medical providers
from the local Jamaican community
will be enlisted to support the
project. The project's evaluation
will compare baseline data at
the project's founding with measurements
taken at six-month intervals.
The evaluation's focus will be
on use of medical and social services
by clients, and the impact of
training and intervention activities
related to peer outreach workers.
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Academy
for Educational Development
(Evaluation
Center)
1825 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 202-884-8796
Fax: 202-884-8879
Project
Title: Evaluation and Support
Center for Caribbean Peer Support
Initiative
Project
Period: 2003-07
Target
Population: Participating
Demonstration Project Sites in
the Caribbean Peer Support Initiative
Description:
The Evaluation and Support Center
will assist the SPNS program staff
with three tasks:
-
assisting demonstration project
sites with implementing and
evaluating theoretically-sound,
evidence-based, and culturally
specific peer support interventions;
-
conducting a cross-site evaluation
to determine models that are
effective for specific groups
of Caribbeans living in the
US; and
-
identifying, compiling, and
disseminating best practices,
lessons learned, and other relevant
findings to HIV service providers,
policy makers, funders, and
patients.
The
Evaluation and Support Center
will conduct an initial needs
assessment, design a structured
technical assistance system, provide
ongoing technical assistance,
and develop and deliver training
for peer workers and data collection.
Key features of the cross-site
evaluation will include a cross-site
logic model, common data collection
instruments and protocols, and
a common analysis plan. The approach
to dissemination activities will
be demand-based and feature early
engagement of multiple external
audiences. Preliminary results
will be shared and dissemination
products will be tailored to audience
needs.
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