Agenda - 06-21-1988 - Laserfiche WebLink

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055 a HISTORY: Since the spring of 1985, Orange County Health Department has served as a commun- ity resource for A1DS informaton, education and HIV testing and counseling. The AIDS education efforts of the department began as a component of its educational programs on sexually transmitted disease control and prevention. Through public school presentations and community programs, over 1700 individuals have been educated about AIDS in Orange County. Numerous press releases and media interviews about AIDS and services have been provided to the local media. Brochures and posters on AIDS have been distributed through a number of agencies, clinics and community events in Orange County. AIDS education has also been a component of the patient education efforts in the Family Planning, Maternity, STD and Epidemiology clinis of the Orange County Health Department. To date, the efforts of the Health Department have focused on adolescents in the public schools and sexually active patients in the clinics. The effect of these efforts has not yet been assessed. The Orange County Health Department has had some success in the area of teen pregnancy prevention. Through joint collaboration with the school, Social Services Department, Planned Parenthood, Adolescents-In- Need and other agencies, teens in Orange County have received intensive education about sexual responsibility, sexuality, human reproduction, parenting and pregnancy prevention. The department has facilited access to family planning services to teens and currently has a clinic enrollment that is 40Z teens. Follow-up of sexually active teens through the schools, home visits and other agencies has enhanced com- pliance in family planning by sexually active teens. In 1986, Orange County exper- ienced the third lowest teen pregnancy rate in North Carolina, which was nearly half the state teen pregnancy rate. PROBLEM STATEMENT: From June of 1985 to May 31, 1988, 711 individuals have been tested and counseled for HIV through the department's anonymous. HIV testing program. Of the 548 indivi- duals tested between January 1, 1987. and May 31, 1988, only 37 or 6.75Z were black. Blacks comprise, 18Z of the Orange County population. The low proportion of blacks tested by the program may be an indicator that the perception-of risk for HIV infec- tion among blacks is considerably less than that among whites, expecially when exam- ination of clinical data in other clinics shows a much higher user rate among blacks (i.e., STD clinics, Family Planning). This is supported by discussions with promi- nent members of the black communities of Orange County. Attitudes about AIDS, per- sons with AIDS and the behaviors that put a person at risk for AIDS are quite nega- tive in the black community. These negative attitudes pose a barrier to effective dissemination of AIDS informa- tion to individuals at risk for practicing high risk behaviors for HIV. Adolescence is a time of experimentation and risk-taking. It is a time when many young people begin to explore their sexuality, form attitudes about themselves and others, and, for some, experiment with drugs and'alcohol. Lack of social and job opportunities, fatalism, about the future, peer pressure, low self-esteem and other factors contribute to risk-taking behavior. Among black youths, these factors com- bine to place black adolescents at an inordinate risk. To prevent AIDS in this youthful minority populationmay have the most significant impact on curbing the spread of this disease in the black community. Therefore, the y � target population of the educational al P ro ram proposed herein will be blacks age 13-20. In 1986, it was estimented by the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management to be 2,833 non-whites age 10-19 in Orange County.