VOICES/VOCES
VOICES/VOCES is a single-session, video-based HIV/STD prevention workshop designed to encourage condom use and improve condom negotiation skills among African-American and Latino adult men and women who are at high risk of becoming infected with and/or transmitting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
VOICES/VOCES does not require participants to return for multiple-session workshops. Instead, it fits effective prevention education into the time frame of a clinic visit or other brief opportunity to reach clients during a “teachable moment.”
VOICES/VOCES is grounded in the Theory of Reasoned Action…Reasoned Action Theory provides a model for understanding how people’s behaviors are guided by their attitudes, beliefs, and past experiences as well as by how they perceive others think they should act in a given circumstance – that is, the social and cultural norms of their community.
During a VOICES/VOCES session, health educators convene groups of four to eight clients in a room that allows privacy for discussion.
Groups are gender and ethnic-specific, so that participants can develop prevention strategies appropriate for their culture.
Information on HIV risk behaviors and condom use is delivered by videos, facilitated group discussion, and a board presenting features of various condom brands in English and Spanish.
Two culturally-specific videos are used: one for African-American participants and a bilingual video for Latinos.
Skills in condom use and negotiation are modeled in the videos, then role-played and practiced by participants during the discussion that follows.
At the end of the single, 45-minute session, participants are given samples of condoms.
Clients who participate in VOICES/VOCES demonstrate:
- Increased knowledge about the transmission of HIV and other STD’s
- A more realistic assessment of their personal risk
- Greater likelihood of getting condoms and intending to use them regularly
- Fewer repeat STD infections
