SUMMARY

The goal of the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills HIV Prevention Program (IMB Skills Program) is to reduce high school students' risk of HIV infection. IMB Skills Program objectives include positively influencing student' HIV prevention attitudes and norms, and increasing students' levels of HIV prevention behavioral skills. The intervention includes a classroom component, conducted by trained teachers. The program is based on the Information, Motivation and Behavioral Skills (IMB) model of health behavior change, which assumes that HIV prevention information, motivation and behavioral skills are the fundamental determinants of HIV preventive behavior.

An evaluation of the curriculum was conducted by the Center for HIV Intervention and Prevention in 2000. Participants were 1,577 students in four inner-city high schools in Connecticut (37% male, 63% female, 61% African-American, 28% Hispanic-American, 11% Caucasian, mixed or "other"). The intervention had significant effects on precursors of HIV preventive behavior at the time of the post-test. A combination of the classroom-based and peer-based components also effectively promoted HIV risk-reduction behavior among participants at the time ofthe three-month follow-up. Students who wereinitially abstinent were likely to maintain so, and participants who had been sexually active prior to the intervention showed significant and sustained increases in condom use during sexual intercourse.

SUITABLE FOR USE IN

The IMB Skills Program is designed for implementation in high-school settings (both inside and outside of the classroom).

ORIGINAL INTERVENTION SAMPLE

Age, Gender
The original intervention sample included 1,577 students in Connecticut. The sample was 37% male and 63% female. The mean age was 14.8 years.

Race/Ethnicity
More than half of the participants (61%) were African-American, 28% were Hispanic-American, and 11% classified their race as Caucasian, "mixed" or "other".

PROGRAM LENGTH

The classroom-based components of the intervention are implemented over four classroom periods. One period each is devoted to an information and behavioral skills component; two periods are devoted to a motivation component. Each classroom component includes videos, discussions and associated activities. The peer-educator component (Natural Opinion Leaders/NOLS) runs concurrently with the classroom-based component of the program. NOLS are taught and supervised by trained high school teachers and/or advisors both prior to and throughout the intervention.

STAFFING REQUIREMENTS/TRAINING

High School Teachers: High School Teachers administer the classroom-based component of the program, run preliminary focus groups with students to identify potential peer group leaders, and train and supervise the selected peer educators. All necessary training materials for both the classroom are included in this program box.

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