HIV/AIDS Prevention for Women Attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions

Cardea collaborated with HBCUs and HSIs in the Southwest Region to develop and implement gender and race/ethnic specific behavioral interventions that provided HIV/STI transmission information, opportunities for social skills development, and supportive social networks for women. The overall goal of the project was to empower young college women to discuss HIV/AIDS prevention in a safe, supportive, and effective manner which truly addresses their needs and concerns.

Cardea has supported HIV prevention efforts at minority institutions of higher education since 2001 through grants from the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Family Planning -Title X, and Office on Women's Health. Cardea has worked with select two-year and four-year minority institutions to support and implement gender and culture specific interventions such as Cardea’s Women4Women HIV Prevention Education Curriculum for Hispanic female students and Sisters Informing, Healing, Living, Empowering (SiHLE) for African-American female students..The desired outcome of Cardea’s comprehensive prevention approach was to establish a campus-wide dialogue where HIV prevention discussions are normalized and self-protective behavioral norms become worthy expectations that young college students have of each other.