This project is being conducted by Principal Investigators, Patricia Houston, MS and Sohail Rana, MD in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at Howard University and is supported by Gilead Health Sciences through a grant as a part of the P.A.C.E. Program.
Black women have higher rates of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and lower rates of testing and PrEP use (medication to prevent HIV infection), with poor health outcomes compared to non-Black women. Howard University and partner HealthHIV, a premier national HIV non-profit, are collaborating on this unique approach to women-focused community engagement, combining education, community engagement, and the arts. Program activities will create a path to empowerment for Black women through a Community Survey, educational webinars, podcasts, mentorship, blogs, fashion, and arts workshops.
The overall project goal is to combat barriers to care in Black women especially as they relate to HIV prevention and care. In addition, the project will seek to increase knowledge and decrease stigma surrounding HIV and STIs in the community. The project will address the following objectives:
- Incorporate the perspective and voice of Black women to create new sustainable outlets for community engagement.
- Provide training to increase knowledge related to sexual health, HIV prevention, access and health equity among cis and transgender Black women to engage prevention services including PrEP.
- Identify the impact that arts programs have on enriching sexual health, HIV prevention and care, and self-determination among Black women.
At this time this project, known as "Empower," is conducting a Community Survey. The purpose of this survey is to collect information on contributing factors to homelessness, domestic violence, medical mistreatment, and insurance gaps as they relate to Black Women's health to aid in planning project education and other activities. Information about other project activities will be released to the community when available.
The survey is for persons identifying as Black Women. You must be age 18 or above to participate. Your name and personal identifying information will not be collected in the Community Survey. The Community Survey contains questions about age range, gender, race, marital status, zip code, income, education, so that results can be analyzed for different groups. You can decline answering any question. There are no significant physical risks in this survey. There may be psychological risks regarding the survey questions. These risks may include feeling uncomfortable with the questions. If you are upset by any aspects of this project, please inform project staff and they will provide appropriate referrals for mental health services. Procedures for maintaining confidentiality are as follows: The staff will not collect any identifying information on the surveys such as your name, date of birth or social security number, and survey data will be in a secure database. There is no cost to participate. There is no compensation for survey participation. This is a one-time survey. You may stop participation without affecting your relationship with Howard University, project staff, or your health team. Data from the survey may be used in publications about the survey, but no identifying information will be included that would link the information to you as the participant.
If you would like to contact project staff, please contact Patricia Houston at 202-865-4578. You may also call the Howard University Institutional Review Board at 202-865-8597, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, if you would like to discuss this study with someone other than Ms. Houston.
Working...