Employing a teen advisory board to adapt an evidence-based HIV/STD intervention for incarcerated African-American adolescent women.

ABSTRACT

This manuscript assesses priorities and challenges of adolescent females by conducting a meeting with teen advisory board (TAB) members to collect information regarding their lives and experiences pre-, during and post-incarceration in a juvenile detention facility. Multiple themes emerged regarding the impact of incarceration on young African-American females, including experiencing a loss of personal liberties, the importance of making money upon release, unfaithfulness by partners on the 'outside', substance use and lack of control over their environment upon release, including parents, peers and male sexual partners. Based on feedback from TAB members, unique barriers and challenges were identified that suggested areas where adaptations to an evidenced-based HIV/sexually transmitted disease (STD) intervention would be justified to more adequately meet the needs of this particular subgroup of young African-American women. Adaptations to the evidence-based interventions included enhancing activities related to goal setting, emotion regulation skills, decision-making, recognizing and utilizing support networks and addressing the relationship between substance use and risky sexual behavior. Future health education efforts focusing on either the creation of new HIV/STD interventions or adaptations to existing interventions should consider utilizing advisory boards with members of the priority population at the earliest stages of intervention planning.