Effective HIV prevention, education and outreach activities in African, Caribbean and Black communities

Key take-home messages

• African, Caribbean and Black populations represent 14% of the HIV epidemic in Canada. To reduce new infections, HIV prevention intervention research is needed in these communities.
• Programs that deliver education and skills-building experiences to small groups have been successful as behavioural risk-reduction interventions within African, Caribbean and Black communities.
• Faith-based interventions provide culturally relevant HIV prevention, education and outreach efforts. Strengths include: their captive audience of youth, parents and potential volunteers; their community credibility; and their potential to reach youth and adults outside of their communities.
• HIV prevention interventions led by African and Caribbean peers have been shown to be effective in educating and reaching African, Caribbean and Black communities. These interventions have been largely successful at involving the broader community, building rapport, and developing culturally and linguistically appropriate tools.
• Community awareness initiatives that target the entire community (as opposed to individuals) are effective prevention interventions. Culturally appropriate mediums such as theatre productions have been successful in increasing awareness in African, Caribbean and Black communities.
• Although injection drug use and sharing needles is not a common risk factor in African, Caribbean and Black communities in Canada, needle exchange programs have been proven to be both beneficial and cost-effective in reducing the spread of HIV among African American communities in the US.
• African, Caribbean and Black community members should be involved in all aspects of community action and ownership related to HIV research, programs and interventions.

• Population(s)
  • Ethnoracial communities
  • General HIV- population
• Prevention
  • Sexual risk behaviour
  • Drug use behaviours/harm reduction
  • Education/media campaigns