Abstract
HIV/AIDS among students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in the rural South is a growing public health concern. Lack of basic HIV/AIDS knowledge, underestimating risky behaviors, and lack of discussions relating to sexuality are some factors that contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS within the HBCU population. Objectives of the study included the following: 1) To examine how the issue of HIV/AIDS is viewed by student leaders and organizations on campus; 2) To examine what student organizations and administrators are doing to educate the student body on HIV/AIDS; 3) To identify barriers that student organizations and administrators face when providing education to students; and 4) To examine how student leaders rate their leadership influence when interacting with their peers.
This study utilized a qualitative research design in which student leaders and administrators were interviewed and asked a series of questions related to HIV/AIDS education on their campus. Student leader participants were recruited from a university site located in the rural South. Interviews were collected through a 30 minute tape-recorded session on campus. Interview data were analyzed using principles of grounded theory. The findings of the study suggest that student organizations could be a useful vehicle for HIV/AIDS peer-led interventions if their members are well trained and first address underlying issues such as cultural homophobia, sexuality, and stigma relating to HIV/AIDS. Administrators of the university should encourage students to be creative when addressing their peers about issues surrounding HIV/AIDS. Researchers and public health officials must create appropriate interventions to address issues surrounding HIV/AIDS before effective education of HIV/AIDS can take place. Public health significance: Improving HIV education among HBCU students presents a potentially effective strategy that addresses the larger issue of HIV/AIDS among African Americans by focusing their efforts and targeting a smaller sub-population first. The public health relevance of improving education among HBCU campuses is evident when considered in light of this promising possibility. This sub-population is particularly important because many of these individuals will become leaders of the African American community, and influence community behavior and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-08022006-134212 |
| Date | 18 September 2006 |
| Creators | Free, Martinique C. G. |
| Contributors | Martha Ann Terry, BA, MA, PHD, Emilia Lombardi, PHD, Anthony Silvestre, PHD |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-08022006-134212/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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