Group Meeting 6

We met as a group after class this week to discuss avenues we would like to explore with our newly identified target population and agency. We talked about who could attend the flier distribution Wednesday evening and who could attend the focus group Tuesday evening next week.
The flier Distribution will take place at the Dancing Crane shop at 6pm Wednesday the 22nd.
The focus group will be held Tuesday the 28th at the Utah Aids Foundation, also at 6pm.

We talked about the importance of finding out what the community wants, what Keith (our new contact wants) and what we are realistically able to provide and accomplish and finding a way to mesh the three as best as possible.

Possible interventions we could put in place were also discussed, particularly as they relate to out current understanding of needs centered around prevention awareness for teens and young adults. Some of these ideas included informational brochures, and interactive video modulars (such as those made publicly available by the Canadian equivalent of the CDC which I learned about this summer).

Keith's interest/desire for an incentive program for meeting attendance was also discussed. We decided we needed more info from him in regards to what shape he would like this to take and what was available but that it was a good idea as it may get the people there which we need for the focus group to ultimately be successful.

Community Based Participatory Research Questions

Regarding our project working with the Utah Aids Foundation with a particular focus on gay men, we answered the following three questions posed in class: 

(1.) What additional information would you like to know?

• How well informed is the population? 
• For those who contracted HIV/AIDS more recently, how did it happen? 
• Did these individuals previously know about prevention methods and chose not to use them, or were they unaware?

• What gaps are there in the existing literature? 
• What is the perception of risk in Utah?
• What is the perception of the disease overall? 
• What is the common perception of the Utah Aids Foundation? Is there a stigma attached to using their services or coming to the center?
•  For those living with HIV/AIDS, what resources/supports are they currently aware of? Where do they stand in need?

(2.) Where could you acquire/secure this information? 

• Utah Aids Foundation and the resources it has to offer
• Community members 
• Local research being performed by organizations or colleges/universities. 

(3.) How would you acquire this information? 

• Focus groups (we have our first one next week!)
• Interviews with community members 
• Literature searches
• Consulting with experts, community organization leaders
• Health department records on statewide and national levels

First UAF meeting (C4)

On 10/16 Mary reported that she had received a note of interest from Keith Reynolds at the Utah AIDS Foundation.  He wanted to meet with us on 10/17 at 10 AM.

Because of the late notice and scheduling conflicts with work, only Mary and Karl were able to attend.  We met with Keith and got a tour of the UAF facility.  We then explained the nature of our project and confirmed that we could form an alliance with Keith and the UAF that would be mutually beneficial to our team, the UAF, and the community they serve as well.  We then began preliminary exploration of issues which affect the UAF mission and ways that we might be of service to the community.

The mission of the UAF is to educate community members about HIV transmission and prevention, provide testing for a variety of sexually transmitted infections, as well as support for those persons in Utah currently living with HIV/AIDS.  We identified that the primary population that Keith works with through the UAF is men who have sex with men (MSM), because this group is by far the most at-risk for contracting HIV.  We were able to identify the following challenges:

• Long term involvement from individuals in the community
• Interest and motivation for prevention education
• Ability to reach target population(s) in an effective manner with prevention programs
• Current rise in HIV transmission among IV drug users and apparent apathy in prevention from this particular subset of the population.  

We then discussed options for meeting with the community.  We decided that a focus group, to be held at the UAF would be the best option.  We have planned the focus group for 10/28.  Mary had created an announcement flyer to be distributed in the meantime, which she has forwarded to Keith for commentary, and agreement.

Team members will meet this week to discuss specifics of the focus group, including what ways to best reach attendees and discover the community's needs in relation to the UAF and HIV prevention/education/testing/care.

Group Meeting 5

Group members met in Karl's home to watch Before Stonewall, and the first portion of After Stonewall  in order to supplement their research and understanding of the LGBTQ movement in America. These two documentaries offer a history of the gay and lesbian movement in the US through historical footage and interviews with those who lived through it. 

Update on Pride Center (G5)

Stephen Ha finally returned Mary's messages, only to tell us that he would not be able to work with us after all.  This, after 3 weeks of giving us the runaround, cancelling scheduled appointments, and refusing to return many texts and phone calls.  We are baffled and dismayed by this behavior.

Group members are again making contacts with other community organizations with which to work.

Group Meeting 4

The group met on 10/7,  and discussed our plans to meet with Steven Ha the following day. We also discussed the possibility that if we continued having difficulty meeting with him, we would consider other possibilities.

On 9/30 the group met to discuss the status of our project.  Mary has made an appointment with Steven Ha at the Utah Pride Center for this Friday (which is, unfortunately, a night when the rest of the group cannot make the meeting, but is the only night in the next week when Steven can schedule us). Mary asked the other group members to provide pertinent questions for the meeting, which we compiled and emailed to her.