The overall goal of the proposed demonstration project is to reduce the spread of AIDS in the population and to develop prevention and intervention approaches for the target population of: IV drug users, their spouses and sexual partners, and prostitutes. Philadelphia Health Management Corporation will work collaboratively with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) through its Coordinating Office for Drug and Alcohol Abuse Programs (CODAAP) and its Division of Health Promotion and Disease Control (HP/DP).
The specific aims of this major public health initiative are: (1) To assure coordination of services, develop a continuum of services and identify and fill gaps in services for the target population; (2) to reach the target population that is not in treatment and to reach the target population that is served through existing health and social services; (3) to increase knowledge and awareness of risks of needle sharing and unprotected sexual contact through broad based public awareness and educational programs, sensitive to the special needs of minority populations; (4) to assure access to counseling and HIV testing, while assuring protection of patient rights; (5) to reduce AIDS related risk-taking behavior (e.g. IV drug use, needle sharing and unsafe sex); and (6) to assess the effectiveness of the demonstration and increase the potential for replication of successful approaches in other sites. A central feature of the proposed methodology is the development of cooperative working agreements among drug treatment programs, public health and neighborhood health centers, family planning and specialized women's services, the correctional system and the hospital and physician community. Utilizing this structure, the project will deploy two teams of workers: (1) Indigenous Outreach workers to work with the target population that is not a part of the service system (2) Institutional Outreach workers/counselor-educators, who will work with the target population in organized service settings. These outreach components will be supported by a coordinated public awareness and education campaign carried out in cooperation with the print and electronic media, schools and health and social service providers. The target population will be urged to participate in group counseling, individual counseling and, when appropriate, HIV testing. The Target Population will be provided with free condoms and will be counseled on the importance of not sharing needles. AIDS advocacy organizations will coordinate with PHMC to provide follow-up and support services. Data generated through client contact, HIV testing and client interviewing will be utilized to evaluate the demonstration.
