Feasibility Test of an Effective HIV Prevention Curriculum for Deaf High School Students

Introduction: A national survey of over 500 deaf high school students showed deficits in HIV knowledge and elevated levels of risk behavior. An effective behavioral intervention, Focus on Youth (FOY) was selected for adaptation to the needs of this population. Adaptation challenges included: translation into American Sign Language (ASL), adaptation to deaf culture, and delivering portions of the intervention via the web.

Methods: Feasibility was tested by developing and piloting a prototype of 4 sections of FOY for deaf HS students. Steps were: Review FOY; select sections for prototype (Influence of Family of Origin, Decision Making, HIV Information, Communication Styles, Communication about Sex); Translate sections into ASL; adapt vignettes for deaf culture and experience; Conduct focus groups and class tests; Revise relevant sections; Test revised sections in focus groups.

Results: Class tests showed gains in knowledge and changes in attitudes about HIV; focus groups showed preference for role-plays and live action video (as opposed to static images) for presentation of vignettes; revised sections showed improvement in understanding (example: ‘family of origin’, where adolescent is sole deaf family member).

Conclusion: Feasibility and acceptability of a blended learning approach for delivering an effective behavioral intervention for deaf youth were demonstrated through this pilot project. Next steps will include translation and adaptation of the complete FOY intervention, further testing in the deaf high school student population, and distribution of the intervention to high schools for deaf students and other venues.