The purpose of this small research grant proposal is to create and pilot test an intervention that will promote behavioral change in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) sexual risk behavior in young, adult, urban women. A sequence of digital video vignettes be created and their use on a handheld computer will be pilot tested. The video vignettes will be based on content analysis of focus groups with young, adult women and men from public housing developments concerning their perspectives on dyadic trust, sexual pressure, and sexual risk behavior. The theoretical framework will be based on Barrett's (1998) theory of power as knowing participation in change. The vignettes will illustrate the importance of discovering whether and how women are making choices without being aware and without actualizing their potential. A documentary filmmaker, in consultation with research assistants who are representative of the target sample, the principal investigator, and a digital applications developer, will develop storyboards and produce the 20, one-minute video vignettes that are enacted by young adult women and men. The video vignettes will be evaluated for attitudinal change and acceptability in a pilot study at an urban public STD clinic. Use of the hand held computer with its small screen and use of a headset, promote privacy during data collection. The pilot study will use a pretest-posttest design. The development and evaluation of this approach are preliminary to a RO1 research proposal to study the effectiveness of a computerized decision support intervention that will rely on automated rules to deliver tailored, video health promotion messages as feedback to HIV risk behavior. This project addresses a gap in the literature concerning acceptability and feasibility of videos on a hand held computer as an approach to HIV risk reduction. It also addresses the following NINR research themes: Changing lifestyle behaviors for better health, identification of effective strategies to reduce health disparities, and harnessing advanced technologies to serve human needs. This proposal addresses a Healthy People 2010 objective on health communication, specifically when literacy may be a concern. ? ? ?
