Project RAP: Mobilizing Active Drug Users as Peer Health Advocates will be the topic of December's Hartford HIV Forum. Staff from The Institute for Community Research will present preliminary findings from the Risk Avoidance Partnership (RAP), an ongoing study that trains active drug users to educate and model HIV prevention to other drug users in Hartford. Principal investigator Margaret Weeks, Ph.D., intervention coordinator Maria Martinez, intervention facilitator Chris Ortiz and project director Kim Radda, R.N., M.A., will be speaking on Tuesday, December 14 at noon at the Living Center, 1841 Broad Street. The event is free; lunch will be provided and advance registration is required.

Project RAP is a community-based intervention that teaches drug users to become peer health advocates who disseminate HIV risk reduction messages and products in locations where individuals use drugs. The Project RAP team are presently evaluating the benefit of the intervention in the community through follow-up interviews with program participants, ethnographic observation and monitoring of peer-led intervention activities.

By attending the Hartford event, members of the public and health care professionals will learn about the program, how it was implemented and its impact on participants and their immediate contacts.

According to Dr. Weeks the RAP program is expected to improve risk reduction beyond the traditional standard service preventions that have dominated the AIDS prevention field. "We train people who are at very high risk to promote health within their communities in those places where risky behaviors occur," Dr. Weeks said. "Our findings suggest this program has tremendous value for other organizations who can use the model to train people to do peer health advocacy in the community."

This is the final lecture in the Fall 2004 series of forums organized by The Institute for Community Research and the Connecticut AIDS Education and Training Center. The Hartford HIV Forum meets from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m., on the second Tuesday of each month. The goal of the forums is to give the local community the most up-to-date information on current topics in AIDS prevention, treatment, research and care. To register for the forum, call The Institute for Community Research at 860-278-2044. Signing for the hearing impaired and Spanish interpretation are available with a minimum of ten days advance notice. For more information about the series, contact Peg Weeks at The Institute for Community Research at 860-278-2044 x229.

The Institute for Community Research is an independent, nonprofit organization which conducts applied research and community enhancement programs to promote equal access to health, education, and cultural resources. The Connecticut AIDS Education and Training Center trains providers with the goal of improving HIV clinical care. The Hartford HIV Forum is co-sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and GlaxoSmithKline.

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