NCJ Number
122022
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 56 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1989) Pages: 25-28
Date Published
1989
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Responding to the AIDS epidemic, the State legislature enacted the California AIDS Program (CAP) in 1985 to fund specified pilot AIDS education programs.
Abstract
Through a process of competitive bidding, public and private agencies are awarded contracts to provide AIDS education and prevention (E & P) to specified target groups throughout the State. Six specific target groups were identified for special consideration: (1) men having sex with other men; (2) intravenous drug users (IVDUs); (3) sex partners of gay/bisexual men, IVDUs, and heterosexuals with multiple partners; (4) emergency service workers (ESWs); (5) health care workers; and (6) hemophiliacs. ESWs were defined operationally as law enforcement officers, firefighters, and paramedics. An evaluation of the 87 programs during the 1987-1988 fiscal year called for on-site visits and interviews. Five categories of educational interventions were used by E & P contractors: formal presentations; training of trainers (TOT); hotlines; and mass media. Only two of these strategies -- formal presentations and TOT -- were used with any frequency in law enforcement training. Law enforcement agencies can and should independently create their own AIDS educational programs with the following in mind: (1) soliciting line officer input about content of program; (2) making content relevant to officers on the street; (3) emphasizing change in attitudes as well as knowledge about AIDS; (4) scheduling sufficient time to present information; and, (5) reinforcing the message through periodic updates. 3 tables, 5 notes.