Original article
Tapping youth as agents for change: evaluation of a peer leadership HIV/AIDS intervention

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1054-139X(02)00379-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of a community-based HIV/AIDS peer leadership prevention program on newly enrolled peer leaders and youth enrolled as peer educators for one or more years (repeat peer leaders).

Methods: Quasi-experimental nonrandomized design with two intervention groups (newly enrolled and repeat peer leaders) and one comparison group. The sample consisted of 235 adolescents, 164 peer leaders, and 71 comparison youth, drawn from nine communities in Massachusetts. The intervention consisted of a short course and ongoing group work with an adult advisor to plan and implement HIV/AIDS outreach activities for youth. A confidential questionnaire administered at baseline and postintervention measured change in (a) HIV/AIDS knowledge, (b) planning and presenting skills, (c) self-efficacy, (d) perception of one’s self as a change agent in the community, and (e) sexual risk-taking behaviors. Information was collected from both groups of peer leaders on specific activities resulting from the program and perceived benefits. Data were analyzed by both descriptive and multivariate statistics.

Results: Over a 9-month period newly enrolled peer leaders had significantly higher mean scores for HIV/AIDS knowledge and perception of one’s self as a change agent in the community than comparison youth. On all baseline outcome measures except risk-taking behaviors, repeat peer leaders reported higher scores than newly enrolled peer leaders. Post-intervention, HIV/AIDS knowledge continued to increase significantly more among repeat peer leaders compared with those newly enrolled in the program. Repeat peer leaders also reported more benefits from peer leadership training.

Conclusions: A peer education program was found to have benefits to adolescent peer leaders. Benefits gained from the program were sustained and enhanced over time as evidenced by repeat peer leaders included in the study.

Section snippets

Design

A quasi-experimental nonrandomized design was used. The sample consisted of 235 adolescents drawn from nine communities in Massachusetts. Peer leaders (n = 164) were recruited from Protect Teen Health Programs in Boston (n = 34), Cambridge (n = 15), Brockton/New Bedford (n = 15), Lawrence (n = 18), Salem (n = 16), Framingham (n = 16), Worcester (n = 9), Springfield (n = 37), and Holyoke (n = 4). Adolescents participating in community and school-based programs served as a comparison group (n =

Characteristics of peer leaders

Table 1 displays the characteristics of study groups I and II. There were no significant demographic differences between newly enrolled peer leaders and comparison group youth, except for age. Newly enrolled peer leaders were slightly younger than comparison youth. Most newly enrolled peer leaders and comparison youth reported that they were not sexually active, did not feel pressured to have sex, and did not perceive their risk of HIV infection as high.

Repeat peer leaders were, on average, 1.4

Discussion

This first outcome evaluation of the Protect Teen Health program examined the impact of a peer leadership program on newly enrolled adolescent peer leaders and adolescents who re-enrolled as peer educators (repeat peer leaders). To determine program effectiveness we compared newly enrolled peer leaders and a comparison group. To assess durability of results we compared newly enrolled and repeat peer leaders. To date, the published literature has not addressed the effect of peer leadership

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, HIV/AIDS Bureau, under a contract to the Medical Foundation. We thank Kevin Cranston of the HIV/AIDS Bureau of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and Steve Ridini of the Medical Foundation for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of this paper. We also thank the members of the evaluation committee whose dedication, commitment, and hard work on behalf of this project made the evaluation possible. Special

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