Peer Movement Project (PMP)

Background/Purpose

Substance abuse and HIV are significant public health challenges for African American college students, resulting in a disproportionate burden of HIV infection among this population. To address this issue, the SARDI program created and implemented the Peer Movement Project (PMP), a substance abuse and HIV prevention program targeting African American college students ages 18 to 24 at Wright State University, Central State University, and Wilberforce University.

Goals

The three goals of the project include:

• Initiate SAMHSA's Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) process to implement and evaluate strategically planned services based on the unique needs and strengths of African American college students ages 18 to 24.
• Increase substance abuse and HIV prevention capacity to better serve African American college students.
• Expand substance abuse and HIV prevention, and HIV counseling and testing services for African American college students.

To achieve these goals, PMP implemented the following project activities:

• Life on the Yard, a locally developed direct service prevention program;
• HIV and hepatitis C testing and counseling;
• Peers Reaching Out and Modeling Intervention Strategies (PROMISE), a CDC High Impact HIV/AIDS Prevention Project (HIP); and
• Social Media Campaign

Outcomes

Paired-samples t-tests were conducted to compare surveys completed before and three months after the YARD training. Preliminary analyses revealed statistically significant increases in risk perception associated with substance use and sexual behavior from intake to three-month follow-up. In addition, there were statistically significant increases in condom use, decreases in the number of days drinking alcohol, and reductions in the number of sexual partners reported.

Grant Type

Direct Service

Funded By

SAMHSA, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)

Grant No.

SP021711

Principal Investigator

Nicole Kinzeler, Ph.D.

Primary Contact

nicole.kinzeler@wright.edu

Partner Agencies

• Central State University
• Wilberforce University

Publications/Presentations

• Kinzeler, N. R., Browning, A., Huber, J. M., Vann, M., & Gaddis, R. (2022, March 13-16). Using Innovative Technologies to Advance HIV Prevention for African American College Students During COVID-19 [Poster presentation]. American Academy of Health Behavior Annual Scientific Meeting, Key Largo, FL, United States.
• Ellis, J., Kinzeler, N.R., & Faustin, A. (2020). Advancing evidence-based prevention approaches using innovative and emerging technologies. Presented at the United States Conference on HIV/AIDS in October 2020.
• Huber, J.-M., Browning, A., Leonard, A., Kinzeler, N. R., & Ford, J. A. (2020, September 14-17). The peer movement project: An HIV, STD, and substance abuse intervention for African-American college students in Southwestern Ohio [Poster presentation]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention STD Prevention Conference, Atlanta, GA, United States.
• Leonard, A., Huber, J.-M., Browning, A., Kinzeler, N. R., & Ford, J. A. (2020, September 14-17). The risk is not knowing [Poster presentation]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention STD Prevention Conference, Atlanta, GA, United States.
• Kinzeler, N. R., Huber, J.-M., Browning, A., Leonard, A., & Ford, J. A. (2019, March 10-13). Examining the unique substance abuse and HIV risk factors of African American college students using a community needs assessment [Poster presentation]. American Academy of Health Behavior Annual Scientific Meeting, Greenville, SC, United States.
• Kinzeler, N.R., Davis, K., Huber, J.-M., Grundy, S., Martinez, P., & Ford, J.A. (2018). Using a community needs assessment to inform an HIV prevention program for African-American college students. Presented at the CDC's STD Prevention Conference in August 2018.