"On the Horizon" is an electronic news capsule from the Horizons Program.
Horizons (<http://www.popcouncil.org/horizons/horizons.html>) is a global
operations research project designed to:
                *       Identify and test potential strategies to improve
HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and support programs and service delivery.
                *       Disseminate findings to facilitate replication and
scaling up of successful interventions.

Horizons is implemented by the Population Council in partnership with Family
Health International, the International Center for Research on Women, the
International HIV/AIDS Alliance, John Hopkins University, the Program for
Appropriate Technology in Health, Tulane University, and the University of
Alabama at Birmingham.


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Interventions to Reduce HIV/AIDS Stigma: What Have We Learned?
This paper reviews 21 intervention studies that explicitly attempted to
decrease AIDS stigma both in developed and developing countries and 9
studies that aimed to decrease stigma related to other diseases. The studies
selected met stringent evaluation criteria in order to draw common lessons
for future development of interventions to combat HIV/AIDS-related stigma.
Full Report: <http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/horizons/litrvwstigdisc.pdf>

HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing Among Youth: Results from an
exploratory study in Nairobi, Kenya, and Kampala and Masaka, Uganda
Are VCT programs appropriate for young people, who account for the majority
of all new HIV infections in East and southern Africa? To find out,
researchers from several organizations/institutions in Kenya and Uganda
conducted exploratory research to identify opportunities for and barriers to
providing VCT for youth. The first phase of the study, completed in May
2000, indicates that youth would like access to HIV testing and counseling
services if the services are confidential and inexpensive and if the results
are reported honestly.
Full Report: <http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/horizons/vctyouthbaseline.pdf>

Reducing HIV Infection Among Youth: What Can Schools Do?
Key Baseline Findings from Mexico, Thailand, and South Africa
Although many program planners see schools as a convenient location for HIV
prevention programs, there is controversy about whether school programs can
be strong enough to go beyond improving knowledge and attitudes to
increasing the adoption of safe sexual behaviors. Researchers in Mexico,
South Africa, and Thailand are conducting evaluations of school programs
that focus on this question. In each country, the researchers collected
baseline data which showed that sexually experienced students do not always
see themselves at higher risk than sexually inexperienced youth and that
students often misjudge their peer's level of sexual activity.
Full Report: <http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/horizons/schoolsbsln.pdf>



Copyright © 2001 The Population Council, Inc.