AdolescentAIDS.org Mounting Crisis Of HIV/AIDS In Urban Youth.

To draw attention to the growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS in young people, the Adolescent AIDS Program (AAP) at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York has launched a comprehensive online resource center addressing youth and HIV/AIDS.

The online launch coincides with distribution of the latest installment of the popular and hip teen zine, “The Deal.” Following the success of its long-running national “HIV. Live With It. Get Tested!” social marketing campaign and mobilization of health professionals and community organizations to address youth and HIV issues, AAP is making a range of educational resources and materials available to providers, community groups and youth nationwide via http://www.AdolescentAIDS.org.

“Together with colleagues from around the nation and the world, we have developed an extensive repository of information and tools for providers, community leaders and youth on HIV/AIDS that can be used and adapted to meet individual educator and adolescent needs,” said Donna Futterman, MD, Director of the Adolescent AIDS Program at Montefiore and founder of the “HIV. Live With It. Get Tested!” campaign. “By making youth-friendly HIV/AIDS education, prevention, counseling and testing resources widely available, we can combat the crisis of HIV in youth on many levels in many communities.”

The Crisis of HIV in Urban Youth

Youth between the ages of 13 and 21 represent an estimated 25 percent of the 40,000 new U.S. HIV infections each year. In fact, every hour of every day, a young person under age 21 is infected, and most don’t know it until AIDS symptoms strike. Infection rates among youth of color — particularly young women and young men who have sex with men — continue to rise. Almost two-thirds of new HIV infections occur among African Americans and Latinos. Of particular concern is the fact that young people living in urban centers — and now the rural south — are hardest hit and are least likely to access HIV counseling, testing, and care services.

What the Adolescent HIV/AIDS Resource Center Offers

“HIV. Live With It. Get Tested!” Social Marketing Campaign Materials: The unique campaign, created by the Adolescent AIDS Program at Montefiore in 1997, targets youth and adolescents using a combination of peer education and a range of materials that have been researched and created specifically to attract the attention of urban youth. The materials can be customized for local cities and are available for purchase.

* Television and radio advertisements using images of urban youth to convey safer sex and HIV testing messages

* Palm cards, posters and t-shirts with HIV information and contacts

* Comprehensive manual for providers and community organizations to use in building their own “Get Tested” programs, including information on forging productive partnerships, coordinating peer education and outreach and achieving maximum visibility (available Spring 2002)

Teen “zine,” The Deal: A stylish and trendy CD-size lifestyle magazine with HIV information and testing resources integrated with music and fashion stories; can be distributed through schools, concerts, street fairs and peer education programs, and resources can be customized. The latest edition of The Deal is being launched today. Copies are available online at http://www.AdolescentAIDS.org.

Resources for Providers/Community Organizations: The resource center also includes educational information for those who work with young people to provide the latest research and help them make the services they provide more youth-friendly and effective.

* “Youth and HIV Testing 101” manual and video for providers and health clinics on how to conduct youth-friendly HIV counseling and testing

* “Youth and HIV Handbook” designed to improve health care providers’ understanding and implementation of voluntary HIV
counseling, testing, treatment and prevention among their adolescent patients (available Spring 2002)

* “AAP Library on Youth and HIV,” including monographs, book chapters and journal articles on HIV counseling, testing,
research and care as they relate to youth

HIV/AIDS Education and Resources for Youth: In addition to the teenzine, The Deal, and other youth-oriented materials from the “HIV.

Live With It. Get Tested!” campaign, the resource center offers:

* List of youth care sites throughout the U.S.

* Information on free or low cost youth-friendly HIV counseling and testing services

* Links to relevant youth organizations

The Adolescent AIDS Program of Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center The Adolescent AIDS Program of Montefiore Medical Center was created in 1987 to provide comprehensive medical and psychosocial care for HIV-infected youth, engage in relevant research and raise public awareness about youth and HIV. It is the nation’s first and currently one of the largest HIV research, counseling, testing and treatment programs offering services to HIV-infected youth and at-risk youth between the ages of 13 and 21. For more information about the online adolescent HIV/AIDS resource center, visit http://www.AdolescentAIDS.org or contact Stephen Stafford or Donna Futterman, MD at 718-882-0232 (x229).