Transcript The Womens Collective - UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention
The Womens Collective
Adapting a DEBI project for African American Women: Prosper and the Generations Project
Prosper Program Staff
Ndidi N Amutah-
Coordinator Prosper! Program
Vanessa Edmundson-
Associate Prosper! Program
Diane Jones-
Clinical Supervisor
Cathleen Maine-
Development Director
Patricia Nalls-
Founder/Executive Director
The Mission of TWC
To meet the self-defined needs of women living with HIV/AIDS To reduce barriers to care for women and their families by creating partnerships among service providers
Key Components of TWC
Women-Focused Peer-Based Family Centered Women Living with HIV
TWC’s History and Who We Help
Pat’s Story Only local DC AIDS service organization created by and for women living with HIV/AIDS Serving hundreds of HIV+ women
Demographics of TWC’s clients
The majority of women (98%) who have participated to date were African American, the remaining 2% were Latinas. The majority of the women (56%) are in their mid 40’s. Approximately 78% of the women receive public health insurance. More than 90% of the women make under $15,000/year and for 18% of the women, there was no income or it was not reported.
Program Goals
Alleviate maladaptive coping and psychological distress among women with HIV; Reduce the risk of HIV transmission (encourage the cessation of high-risk behaviors); Reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission;
Program Goals cont.
Reduce the progression of HIV disease (improve adherence to medication therapies and other treatments) Increase access to care and support by linking with family-centered case managers to facilitate access to sexual health services and other medical, psychiatric, social service, and community programs Decrease risk for re-infection with HIV disease Decrease risk for co infection with other STD’s.
Prevention Case Management
Addresses behavior change/modification Provides information on HIV treatment/adherence information Focuses on “meeting the woman where she is” Incentives offered
PROSPER! Program
Prosper!
Group-Level Intervention (GLI)
Led by PWP associate 2 hour session, 2x a week Skills-building group for women 10 sessions modeled on CDC’s Healthy Relationships Curriculum (5 sessions), with 5 additional woman focused sessions created by TWC Topics include: Disclosure, Medical Adherence, Risky Behaviors, Ethnic and Gender Pride Incentives offered
TWC curriculum
Women focused Client centered program provides peer support/counseling creates connections between care-seekers and caregivers promotes the participation and empowerment of women, families, partner's) and members of their support network in developing care plans based on their self-defined needs. support women as a whole intended to affect their physical and mental health in a positive manner
TWC curriculum cont.
TWC sessions focus on : gender and ethnic pride self healing empowerment treatment adherence mother-to-child transmission biological markers family coping co-infections
Pros and Cons of Adaptation
Pros: The curriculum is more woman focused, and client centered It concentrates on topics that are important to the overall well-being of the women Women get a chance to center on themselves, and not HIV Gender and Ethnic Pride Empowerment
Pros and Cons of Adaptation cont.
Cons: Develop an additional evaluation component to measure the adapted curriculum
Prosper! Lessons Learned
Challenges in scheduling appointments and reaching women: Extensive paperwork Low literacy rates working with an established organization like Mosaica will grant us the time, effort, and resources necessary for the enhancement and eventual dissemination of our evaluation tools.
Future Recommendations for Program
We would like to provide technical assistance for other organizations around the country Disseminate project information through presentations at local, national, and international conferences Submit information to journals for publication Become a CDC DEBI intervention!
Evaluation
Background
Changed evaluators after the second cohort
Current Phase
Data collection
(early April) Data Analysis (end of April - May) Further restructuring of evaluation design (May)
Evaluation
TWC-PWP Evaluator:
Mosaica: The Center for Nonprofit Development and Pluralism As a values-based multicultural nonprofit capacity building organization, Mosaica helps community based nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and internationally become more effective and sustainable.
Its special commitment is to strengthen and support groups that serve and empower groups whose voices are least likely to be heard when public policies are adopted and resources are allocated.
Evaluation
Key Evaluation Questions
Is the design of the PWP program adequate to meet program goals and objectives?
To what extent did TWC maintain fidelity to the PWP curriculum?
To what extent is the Prevention with Positives Program meeting their stated goals and objectives?
What are the program’s strengths and areas for improvements?
Evaluation
Data Collection Tools and Methods
Pre- and Post-tests (3) PCM Intake TWC - GLI Overall Program Group Observation Form PCM Qualitative Data Form Follow-up interviews with past participants
Evaluation
Evaluation Team
Emily Gantz McKay, Founding President and CEO (Mosaica) Hila Berl, Program Administrator (Mosaica) Nicole Robinson, Program and Evaluation Specialist (Mosaica) Prevention with Positives Staff (TWC)
Contact Information
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 887-0620 Website: www.mosaica.org
Quotes from Prosper participants
“ this is the best group I have been in” “ I feel much better about myself” “Its about me…what I want, and how I feel” “ I feel more empowered now!”
Pictures of Program Participants
Pictures of Program Participants
Program Staff
Brainstorming and Q&A
Thank you!!!
Open-Discussion
Steps for replication of program Has anyone else adapted DEBI’s?
Does anyone else work with HIV positive women?
General feedback is welcomed!!
The Women’s Collective
1436 U Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 202.483.7003