’Our only resource’: Perspectives and recommendations of rural african american youth on adapting sexual health and risk reduction interventions

Rachel Hallum-Montes, Luella Rhodes, Cassandra Malone, Gina Martin, Lindsay Senter, Patti Bunyasaranand

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Articlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Recent studies have documented disproportionately high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV, and births among adolescents in rural areas of the United States. Despite this, the majority of sexual health education programs and interventions were developed for adolescents in metropolitan areas, and may not be appropriate or relevant for rural youth. The present study investigates the perspectives of 73 African American youth in rural Georgia who participated in a cognitive- behavioral intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors, in an effort to understand how the intervention and ones similar to it may be tailored to better meet the needs of rural adolescents. Findings highlight the importance of incorporating diverse teaching and recruitment strategies into interventions when delivering them to rural youth, as well as the need to expand education and risk reduction efforts. Additional research is warranted to understand better how to meet the sexual health education needs of rural youth.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)622-635
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
Volume27
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2016

Keywords

  • Adolescent health
  • African American adolescents
  • Pregnancy prevention
  • Qualitative methods
  • Rural health

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