Project H.A.P.P.Y.

  • Prevention Research CenterHAPPY stands for the HIV/AIDS Prevention Program for Youth
  • Morehouse School of Medicine’s Prevention Research Center Core Project, approved by the CCB.
  • CDC-funded research project focusing on HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections among African American teens ages 14-18 who live in NPUs T, V, X, Y and Z.
  • Aim is to look at the effects of the different parts of each intervention on attitudes and actual changes in behavior.
  • 4 curricula are:
    • ”Be a Responsible Teen” : CDC evidence-based curriculum
    • HIV-RAPP: uses principles of Nguzo Saba to promote sexual health
    • Social Media: which has teens learn about HIV/STIs and how to create health messages for other teens (a month later, we send out those messages on social media to another set of teens to explore message effectiveness;
    • Parent-Child Connectedness Curriculum: Has parents (Ideally of those teens in HIV-RAAP) learning about ways to improve and maintain communication between parents and their teens
  • Goal is to have 384 teens across 3 curricula (roughly 128 in each group)

Process:

  • In the month before sessions begin, participants are recruited in each NPU, and assigned to a curricula based on the NPU
    • V= Center for Working Families /Dunbar Center, is where teens learn how to create Social Media
    • T and X- Washington Park Tennis Center and Whitehead Boys and Girls Club (which is more Z, but that was one of the closest approximations for a location within near Y)- Receive health message
    • Y= Carver Y- BART
    • Z= Thomasville Recreation Center= HIV-RAAP and Parent Curricula
  • Meet in an area near one of the centers, if interested, we describe the program, give the participant a flyer with info and forms to fill out (assent and parent permission for teens, consent for parent) and ask them to complete, and get contact information to call later to schedule baseline survey and for follow-up scheduling.
  • After they complete the survey, teens receive a $10 Walmart gift card; parent participants get a $20 Walmart card.  
  • Teens have 8 sessions to attend, twice a week for a month, and if they go to at least 6, they get an additional $25 gift card. Parents have 4 sessions, once a week for a month and get $25 for ¾ of the sessions.
  • Within the next month, schedule and conduct immediate follow-up survey.  Additional follow-ups are at 6 months and 12 months after the sessions have ended, so we can see if they gained any knowledge or if they think differently about HIV/AIDS and if they maintain it over time. Gift cards are also given at each follow-up session.

Want to learn more?

Fill out the form below and we will contact you with more information.