The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #65332

Katrina Ball, MPH¹, Sharon Rushing, MPH¹, Susanne B. Montgomery, MS, MPH, PhD², and Ivy Lewis³. (1) Department of International Health, Loma Linda University, School of Public Health, Loma Linda, CA 92350, (909) 307-6560, katrinaball@hotmail.com, (2) School of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion and Education, Evaluation Research Unit, Loma Linda University, 10970 Parkland Avenue, Loma Linda, CA 92350, (3) Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Nichol Hall, Loma Linda, CA 92350

Project Peer Factor was designed to provide a culturally appropriate health education program to address the needs of the whole young person via a train-the-trainer approach. Teens completed 20 hours of required peer health education training over a 3-week period. The curriculum for training of peer educators focused on topics identified by the teen participants. Topics included: alcohol, designer drugs, STDs, and peer pressure. Peer educators were required to participate in the development of program activities and material development for dissemination to community teens. The peer health educators then served as outreach workers, educating and disseminating teen health data via a process activity based “teen health challenge booth” at local community venues. Booth activities included: 1) Intoxicated Barbie: a challenge designed to help participants understand how alcohol consumption affects motor skills and decision-making; 2) Hip-Hop Challenge-a challenge in which participants competitively complete dance segments that have been designed and incorporated with health messages; 3) Rap Challenge- a challenge in which teens compose short raps about provided health concepts 4) STD Basketball: a challenge designed to provide and test knowledge of STDs

Project learning and outcome objectives yielded statistically significant increases ranging from 55.6% to 77.8%, signifying a substantial increase in participant’s health knowledge. Peer-led educational learning experiences that are culturally appropriate and unique to the target population are an extremely effective way to facilitate health discussions and provide better understanding of health information.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participants in this session will be able to:
• Describe the relationship between peer-led educational programs and innovative health strategies, and
• Describe culturally appropriate action based educational programs.

Keywords: Health Education Strategies, Peer Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.