Activity 13: Eliminating barriers to individual AIDS prevention

Objectives:

• To look for solutions to barriers in personal AIDS prevention.

Target Group:

• Secondary students (M3-6) adults

Materials:

• Blackboard and chalk, flip charts and markers (optional)

Preparation:

• None necessary.

Directions:

1. Identify Barriers to use of AIDS Prevention Methods

• Write the following AIDS sex and drug risk-reduction precautions on the chalkboard:

- Sexual abstinence

- Avoid exchange of body fluids by using condoms

- Careful selection of partners then monogamous relationships

- Don't use drugs

- Avoid sharing of drug needles and syringes.

• Ask participants to identify barriers or reasons why people do not utilize AIDS prevention. Possible barriers to the strategies listed above might be:

- Inability of a couple to resist peer pressure to be sexually active

- Belief that sex is not pleasurable with a condom

- Embarrassment in getting condoms.

• Write all ideas on the chalkboard.

2. Prioritizing Barriers

• Once all the barriers have been listed on the board, asked participants to select what they think are the five most important barriers to use of AIDS prevent on methods.

• The most important barrier is given five points, and so on to one point for the least important. If the group is small this can be done through group discussion.

Variation:

• If the group is large, break into smaller groups. Each group should prioritize the list. After about ten minutes, groups reconvene and share their lists. Total the point groups have given to each barrier to determine order of priority.

3. Finding Solutions to Eliminating the Barriers

• Divide the group into five groups and one of the top five barriers assigned to each group. Through discussion, the groups are to create solutions for eliminating the barrier assigned to them. They may write their solutions on flip charts. Solutions should be imaginative.

4 Discussion of Solutions

• A spokesperson for each group should report the created solutions to the entire class. These solutions, as well as other possible solutions from the rest of the group, should be discussed.

From: The Ohio Public Schools AIDS Manual