India-U.S. collaboration to prevent adolescent HIV infection: the feasibility of a family-based HIV prevention intervention for rural Indian youth
Despite the centrality of family in Indian society, relatively little is known about family-based communication about sexual behaviour and HIV/AIDS in rural, Indian families. To date, very few family-based adolescent HIV prevention interventions have been developed for rural Indian youth.
The present study conducted formative research with youth aged 14-18 and their parents in order to assess the feasibility of conducting a family-based HIV prevention intervention for rural Indian adolescents.
Methods: Eight focus groups were conducted (N = 46) with mothers, fathers, adolescent females and adolescent males, with two same-gender focus groups held for each of the four groups. Adolescents aged 14-18 years old and their parents were recruited from a tribal community in rural Maharashtra, India.
Focus group transcripts were content analyzed to identify themes related to family perceptions about HIV/AIDS and participation in a family-based intervention to reduce adolescent vulnerability to HIV infection.
Results: Six primary thematic areas were identified: (1) family knowledge about HIV/AIDS, (2) family perceptions about adolescent vulnerability to HIV infection, (3) feasibility of a family-based program to prevent adolescent HIV infection, (4) barriers to participation, (5) recruitment and retention strategies, and (6) preferred content for an adolescent HIV prevention intervention.
Conclusions: Despite suggestions that family-based approaches to preventing adolescent HIV infection may be culturally inappropriate, our results suggest that a family-based intervention to prevent adolescent HIV infection is feasible for rural Indian families if it (1) provides families with relevant family-based prevention strategies and knowledge about HIV/AIDS, (2) addresses barriers to participation, (3) is adolescent-friendly, flexible, and convenient, and (4) is developmentally and culturally appropriate.
Author: Asha Banu SolettiVincent Guilamo-RamosDenise BurnetteShilpi SharmaAlida Bouris
Credits/Source: Journal of the International AIDS Society 2009, 2:10
Published on: 2009-11-20
Copyright by the authors listed above - made available via BioMedCentral (Open Access). Please
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