Rochester AIDS Prevention Project (RAPP)
An Evidence-Based Practice
Description
The Rochester AIDS Prevention Project (RAPP) is a sexual health curriculum delivered in 12 sessions during middle school health education classes.
The RAPP includes general guidance and exercises about assertive communication and decision making strategies. It aims to foster pride and self-esteem among participants. Participants are provided with knowledge and skill-based activities concerning sexuality, pregnancy, STDs, and HIV/AIDS. All sessions include small and large group exercises and take-home exercises designed to incorporate parental participation.
For this nonrandomized control study, students participated in either the control group or one of the three intervention groups. Students in the control group were taught the standard school health curriculum by a regular teacher. Intervention sessions were led by adult professional educators, extensively trained high school peer educators, or school district health teachers and students received the Rochester AIDS Prevention Project curriculum. A pre-intervention and post-intervention questionnaire measured demographics, risk behaviors, and sexual intercourse history.
The RAPP includes general guidance and exercises about assertive communication and decision making strategies. It aims to foster pride and self-esteem among participants. Participants are provided with knowledge and skill-based activities concerning sexuality, pregnancy, STDs, and HIV/AIDS. All sessions include small and large group exercises and take-home exercises designed to incorporate parental participation.
For this nonrandomized control study, students participated in either the control group or one of the three intervention groups. Students in the control group were taught the standard school health curriculum by a regular teacher. Intervention sessions were led by adult professional educators, extensively trained high school peer educators, or school district health teachers and students received the Rochester AIDS Prevention Project curriculum. A pre-intervention and post-intervention questionnaire measured demographics, risk behaviors, and sexual intercourse history.
Goal / Mission
The goals of the program are: 1) to promote abstinence maintenance among sexually abstinent students and encourage safer sex practices to sexually active students, 2) compare the effect of RAPP when taught by different providers, and 3) to explore the factors that impact a student's decision to engage in sexual activity.
Impact
Regular teacher-taught male (p=.001) and female students (p=.05) and peer-taught male students (p=.02) had the highest rates of delaying the onset of sexual activity.
Results / Accomplishments
The intervention was most effective for delaying the onset of sexual activity among peer-taught males (p=.02) and regular teacher-taught males (p=.001) and females (p=.05). Among previously abstinent participants, increasing age (p <.01, females; p <.001, males), lower socioeconomic status (p <.0001), and higher general risk behaviors (p <.0001) best predicted the transition to sexual activity. Baseline measures suggest that urban primary-school intervention before the onset of adolescence is necessary to mitigate early development of risky sexual and life behaviors.
About this Promising Practice
Organization(s)
University of Rochester
Primary Contact
David M. Siegel, M.D., M.P.H.
Rochester General Hospital
1425 Portland Avenue
Pediatric Adolescent Medicine
Rochester, NY 14621
(585) 275-4733
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/people/20117191-dav...
Rochester General Hospital
1425 Portland Avenue
Pediatric Adolescent Medicine
Rochester, NY 14621
(585) 275-4733
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/people/20117191-dav...
Topics
Health / Adolescent Health
Health / Family Planning
Health / Family Planning
Organization(s)
University of Rochester
Source
Journal of Adolescent Health
Date of publication
Jul 2002
Geographic Type
Urban
Location
Rochester, NY
For more details
Target Audience
Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities