Drug abuse and addiction have been closely linked with HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic. Although injection drug use is well known in this regard, non-injection drug abuse plays a greater role in the spread of HIV than is generally recognized. Drug abuse can impair judgment and unsafe sexual behavior. Drug abuse by any method can put a person at risk for contracting HIV due to impaired decision making while intoxicated or high, and can lead to unsafe sexual practices including lack of condom use, which puts them at risk for contracting and transmitting HIV. The reduction of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases depends on successfully changing a range of risky behaviors, especially consistent and effective condom use. Condoms, when used correctly, have been shown to reduce HIV/STI rates overall and in high risk populations. With the enormous public health burden of these diseases, effective behavior change strategies are essential. In this study, our research team proposes to develop the Behavioral Brand Builder (B3). B3 is a user- friendly, step-by-step training guide with integrated tools for development of branded prevention programs and services based on branding principles leveraging behavioral and scientific evidence along with validated metrics and evaluation tools to measure the effectiveness of branded program. The research builds upon prior work in rich internet application web development, usability design, health branding and public health from our team. Our team includes expertise in brand development, sexual health, drug abuse, public policy, quantitative and qualitative methodology, and web development. The long-term product goal is to develop the B3 to be user-friendly, cross-domain to help to: 1) increased KSA for researchers in the field of behavioral health interventions, 2) increased return on investment for translational research, and 2) ultimately improved uptake and effectiveness health behavior adoption for through branding.
Behavioral Brand Builder (B3) is a user-friendly, step-by-step training guide with integrated tools for development of branded prevention programs and services based on branding principles leveraging behavioral and scientific evidence along with validated metrics and evaluation tools to measure the effectiveness of branded program. It is designed to help to: 1) increased KSA for researchers in the field of behavioral health interventions, 2) increased return on investment for translational research, and 2) ultimately improved uptake and effectiveness health behavior adoption for through branding.
