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Rikers Health Advocacy Program

An Effective Practice

Description

Rikers Health Advocacy Program is an intensive sexual health education course for male adolescents, aged 16-19 years, who have been detained and sentenced at Rikers Island jail complex.

The Rikers Health Advocacy Program consists of four (twice-weekly one-hour) group education sessions, and focuses on adolescent drug use and HIV/AIDS.

Goal / Mission

The mission of the Rikers Health Advocacy Program is to provide an intensive AIDS education designed to reduce HIV risk behaviors for incarcerated adolescent male drug users.

Results / Accomplishments

110 participants of the Rikers Health Advocacy Program were compared with a 301-member control group. Evaluations were conducted through individual interviews.

When compared to the control group, incarcerated male adolescents who were educated through the Rikers Health Advocacy Program were significantly more likely to increase positive attitudes towards condom use, more likely to increase condom use, and possibly to decrease sexual activity with high-risk partners (i.e., sex with intravenous drug users, heterosexual anal intercourse). However, substance use did not decrease.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Sociometrics Corporation
Primary Contact
John Shields, Ph.D.
Sociometrics Corporation
170 State Street, Suite 260
Los Altos, CA 94022-2812
(650) 949-3282 ext. 213
jshields@socio.com
http://www.socio.com/
Topics
Health / Adolescent Health
Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
Community / Crime & Crime Prevention
Organization(s)
Sociometrics Corporation
Source
Journal of Adolescent Health
Date of publication
1/24/1994
Geographic Type
Urban
Location
New York
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Target Audience
Teens, Men

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