HIV infection among older adults is increasing. Previous research suggests that many older adults do not see themselves as at risk for HIV and that many subscribe to myths related to HIV transmission. In this focus group study (N = 48) we solicited the beliefs that older adults held about HIV. The older adults in this study were knowledgeable about how HIV is typically transmitted. However, we also identified that they subscribed to misconceptions regarding casual contact transmission and were fearful of transmission from the medical system. Educational efforts aimed at older adults must be tailored to address these persistent misconceptions.
This teaching note discusses a teach-in organized in response to a racist incident on a college campus. An examination of the history of teach-ins demonstrates that social work educators have been involved with them since the beginning of the profession, and the method is a natural fit for social work given its historic role. Social work educators have unique professional and ethical responsibilities to respond to hate crimes and other racist incidents on campus and to develop the competencies of social work students to do the same. Teach-ins are a model for doing so in ways that demonstrate the profession's commitments to social justice advocacy, social justice education, and a robust implicit curriculum.
The efficacy of a behavioral intervention to reduce human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviors was tested in a randomized, controlled trial with three high-risk populations at 37 clinics from seven sites across the United States. Compared with the 1855 individuals in the control condition, the 1851 participants assigned to a small-group, seven-session HIV risk reduction program reported fewer unprotected sexual acts, had higher levels of condom use, and were more likely to use condoms consistently over a 12-month follow-up period. On the basis of clinical record review, no difference in overall sexually transmitted disease (STD) reinfection rate was found between intervention and control condition participants. However, among men recruited from STD clinics, those assigned to the intervention condition had a gonorrhea incidence rate one-half that of those in the control condition. Intervention condition participants also reported fewer STD symptoms over the 12-month follow-up period. Study outcomes suggest that behavioral interventions can reduce HIV-related sexual risk behavior among low-income women and men served in public health settings. Studies that test strategies for reducing sexual risk behavior over longer periods of time are needed, especially with populations that remain most vulnerable to HIV infection.
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