Mujeres Unidas Contra el SIDA

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Mujeres Unidas Contra el SIDA
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Situation

• Challenge
• Lack of HIV information for Latinas
• Cultural norms make it difficult for family
  members to talk about sexuality
  
• Impact
• Intergenerational silence reinforces stigma and
  shame
  
• Silence and shame put women at greater risk for
  infection, late diagnosis and delayed access to
  care
  
• Solution
• Mother-daughter retreats

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Habla Conmigo Project

• Approach
• Culturally (ethnic, age, gender) and
  linguistically competent
  
• Family centered outreach and health education
• Strategy
• Health educators model and participants practice
  how to talk about critical sexual health issues
  
• General health discussions for Latina mothers
  daughters
  
• Recognize the role and power of family
  relationships in setting cultural norms
  
• Intergenerational influences

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Best Practice Retreat Setting for Intervention

• Innovation
• Retreat provides setting for participants to
  examine and affirm health beliefs/attitudes/behavi
  ors of Latina mothers and daughters
  
• Tangible Impact
• Pre/post-test measures indicate increased
  knowledge
  
• Next step enhance evaluation to measure behavior
  change
  
• Sustainable Effect
• Creates a cultural shift around talking about
  sexual health issues
  
• Replicable
• Populations where strong group and/or familial
  norms/dynamics impact risk-taking behavior