Ending The Epidemic

In AIDS Community Services’ ongoing efforts to end the epidemic, prevention education has always been a significant priority. ACS’ HIV Prevention Services include:

 

  • OraQuick HIV testing available daily with test results in 20 minutes.

  • State-of-the-art individualized prevention education programming targeting individuals with high-risk behaviors.

  • Behavioral Change Institute supporting healthy behavior changes for adolescents and adults.

  • Community programming providing HIV information and education to individuals and families in churches, schools, community centers, and youth groups.

  • A Regional magazine, Pathways, reaching over 80,000 individuals annually.

  • A staff of over 20 full time professionals providing individualized and community HIV/AIDS outreach and prevention education programs.
  • In 2003 the CDC featured ACS as a national model in cutting edge HIV prevention methodologies in a health care setting.

  • Research - ACS’ education team has been participating in an HIV/AIDS prevention education research collaboration with the Center for AIDS Intervention Research of the Medical College of Wisconsin to perfect the cross-cultural adaptability of the CDC’s Popular Opinion Leader (POL) model. This will, eventually lead to the POL model being effectively adapted to help stem the epidemic in emerging nations across the globe.

  • Behavioral Change Training and Research Institute. The agency has been utilizing behavioral change models in its continuum of prevention education interventions for many years and iis eager to expand its expertise in this area and develop ways to adapt these programs and methodologies to other applicable health concerns in the region.

  • Syringe Exchange Program (SEP). The SEP has been on-site in ACS’ Central Office for five years, and in that time, has more than doubled the registered and active participants. Today there are over 4,000 active participants exchanging in excess of 30,000 syringes per month. ACS is aggressively seeking ways to expand on the success of this program.

 

For more detailed information on the programs of AIDS Community Services’ Division of Prevention Education and Training see the liaks to the left.