Reports have shown that in the United States, 25% of the population that is considered sexually active is between the ages of 15 and 24; however, this portion of the population comprises 50% of the new sexually transmitted disease and HIV cases that spring up each year. Key players in helping combat this growing problem have been community-based organizations or CBOs, as they are often called. In fact, one way researchers found to lower the rate of HIV and STDs has caught the attention of CBOs and has since been implemented with much success. Fortunately, this allows more young adults considered “at risk” to be positively affected. A study was recently conducted by researchers out of the University of Pennsylvania to determine if an intervention program used to reduce the incidences of new HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases cases would prove as successful if passed off to be utilized by CBOs. Findings from the study showed that they were, in fact, able to utilize these types of intervention programs with success. While the number of sexual intercourse encounters did not get reduced, the program was successful in increasing the frequency that sexually active participants utilized condoms during sexual encounters. One other aspect of the study focused on the impact of training on the facilitators within CBOs. In fact, it was determined that there was not much difference in success between those facilitators who simply received a training packet and those who received extended training. This shows that to be successful, a CBO facilitator does not need to have training that is “extraordinarily extensive or expensive.” The author of the study, a professor of Communication in Psychiatry and of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine and Annenberg School for Communication, John Jemmott III, states, “Community-based organizations have been on the front lines of the HIV/ AIDS fight since the beginning of the epidemic, and this study shows their ability to successfully apply interventions designed to prevent STD transmission in a vulnerable population.” Eighty-six CBOs with over 1700 young adults participated in this study and were divided into one group that focused on STD reduction and one control group. Those in the intervention group were educated on skills and knowledge that would help reduce the risk of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases like HIV. The study went on for a year with the participants reporting at three months, six months and a year. Those in the intervention group showed a consistent use of condoms for sexual activities. Loretta S. Jemmott, a professor of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing states, “We were pleased to find that effective interventions can retain their beneficial effects when implemented by CBOs outside of tightly controlled research settings. This has important implications for ways that future interventions can be rolled out.”

Original Source of Community-Based Organizations Key to Fighting AIDS/HIV