Warning:

This document is being maintained for historical purposes, but is now out of date. To view current guidelines please visit:

• HIV/AIDS Guidelines and Recommendations   at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/guidelines/index.html

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Guidelines for Health Education and Risk Reduction Activities

April 1995
                
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

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                                 GLOSSARY
          GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN HIV/AIDS HEALTH EDUCATION AND
                        RISK REDUCTION ACTIVITIES  


 1.  COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

     Routes or methods selected to reach target audiences with HIV/AIDS
     information.  Types of channels include mass media, interpersonal
     transactions, and community-based interactions.

 2.  COMMUNITIES

     Social units that are at least one of the following: functional
     spatial units meeting basic needs for sustenance, units of patterned
     social interaction, or symbolic units of collective identity. 

 3.  COMMUNITY THEATER

     Local community theatrical presentations used to provide HIV/AIDS
     awareness and educational interventions that are developed, casted by,
     and targeted toward school-age youth.

 4.  CULTURAL COMPETENCY

     Having the capacity and skills to function effectively in environments
     that are culturally diverse and are composed of distinct elements and
     qualities.  Cultural competence begins with the STD/HIV professional
     understanding and respecting cultural differences and realizing that
     the client's culture affects his/her beliefs, perceptions, attitudes,
     and behaviors.

 5.  DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE

     Material developed at a level that is consistent with the learning
     skills of the person served so as to ensure comprehension.

 6.  DISTRIBUTION OF BLEACH

     The distribution of bleach is the handing out of free, small bottles
     of bleach for the purpose of cleaning injecting drug use needles and
     syringes.  Bleach is usually distributed as part of outreach to
     injecting drug users.  Needle cleaning instruction labels are usually
     put on the bleach bottles.  Outreach staff are usually involved in
     filling and labeling bleach bottles.  Other materials distributed to
     IDUs include bottle caps for cookers, cotton, alcohol wipes, and
     bottles of water for rinsing needles.

 7.  CONDOM DISTRIBUTION    

     The distribution of condoms is the handing out of free condoms as part
     of an HIV/AIDS educational intervention.  Condoms and literature with
     instructions on proper use may also be distributed as an item in safer
     sex kits.

 8.  HOTLINE

     Telephone service (local or toll-free) offering up-to-date information
     on HIV/AIDS and referral to related local services, e.g.,
     counseling/testing and support groups.  Hotlines may receive crisis
     calls; however, the intent is usually to provide information and
     referral.

 9.  LINGUISTICALLY SPECIFIC

     Dialect and terminology consistent with the target population's native
     language and style of communication.

10.  MASS MEDIA 

     Means by which information is conveyed to large groups of people;
     generally includes television, radio and print.  These mass media are
     often used to disseminate information about HIV/AIDS and its impact on
     the local community.

     The use of broadcast or print media for the dissemination of
     information about HIV/AIDS and its impact on the local community.

11.  PAID ADVERTISING (TV, RADIO, PRINT)

     Paying for the placement of advertisements/announcements/information
     on radio, TV,  newspapers, magazines, billboards, and bus cards/bus
     shelters.

12.  PEER EDUCATION

     Peer education is HIV/AIDS education provided by trained, self-identified members of the target population to groups of their peers. 
     Peer educators usually serve as role models, demonstrating to their
     peers behaviors that promote risk-reduction.

13.  PEER SUPPORT COUNSELING

     Individual or group support counseling sessions facilitated by a
     trained, self-identified member of the target group, population, or
     community, i.e., a peer outreach educator.

14.  PRETESTING

     Testing of planned public information strategies, messages, or
     materials before completion and release to help assure effectiveness.

15.  PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

     HIV/AIDS training (lectures in basic AIDS facts, counseling and
     testing training, and AIDS updates/seminars/forums/workshops) provided
     usually for health, education, and social service professionals in the
     community, e.g., nurses, doctors, counselors, social workers,
     teachers, and law enforcement officers.

16.  PUBLIC INFORMATION

     HIV/AIDS prevention activities directed to target audiences that are
     designed to build general support for safe behavior, support personal
     risk-reduction efforts, and/or inform persons at risk of infection how
     to obtain specific services.

17.  RISK-REDUCTION COUNSELING

     Individual or group counseling sessions focusing on behavior change
     activities, such as safer sex practices, proper condom use and
     demonstration, and needle cleaning.  Usually conducted by trained AIDS
     health educators/counselors.  Trained peer outreach educators may also
     conduct risk-reduction counseling with their peers in or out of an
     office setting, e.g., as part of street outreach.

18.  SPEAKERS BUREAU

     A group of volunteers who have been trained to provide basic HIV/AIDS
     educational presentations usually targeted toward community social,
     cultural, and educational groups.  In addition, presentations may be
     given in other settings where persons at high risk for infection can
     be reached, such as homeless shelters or juvenile detention centers. 
     These presentations are intended to raise AIDS awareness in the
     community.  

19.  SPECIAL EVENTS

     HIV/AIDS outreach/educational activities conducted at community events
     such as street fairs, job/health fairs, and local community
     celebrations, e.g., Black History Month, Cinco de Mayo, and Gay and
     Lesbian Pride Day.

20.  STREET OUTREACH

     HIV/AIDS educational interventions generally conducted by peer
     outreach educators on the street, face-to-face with high-risk
     individuals.  The handing out of condoms, bleach, sexual
     responsibility kits, and educational materials, e.g., safer sex cards
     and pamphlets, is usually done as part of street outreach targeted at
     high-risk groups. 

21.  WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS

     HIV/AIDS educational sessions in which a speaker presents information
     to an audience.  Depending on the audience, presentations may be given
     by HIV/AIDS health educators, peer outreach educators, or trained
     volunteers.  Workshop presentations represent the most structured
     health education and risk reduction intervention efforts.  However,
     their impact is limited because they are single-encounter experiences. 
     These presentations provide technical information that could initiate
     the changing of norms or individual behavior.  

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