Successful Culturally-Adapted AI/AN Interventions

It’s Your Game…Keep it Real (IYG)

An example of an innovative intervention that has the potential of becoming a sustainable resource for tribal communities. This 4-year project was initiated at the end of 2010, and will adapt a previously successful Internet-based HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention curriculum: It’s Your Game. Keep It Real: Delaying Sexual Behavior with an Effective Middle School Program [PDF - 253KB], for use with American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) middle school-aged adolescents (12–14 years). The effectiveness of the intervention will be evaluated in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Idaho), and Arizona; each region plans to include 400 adolescents (recruited from schools and other youth-serving organizations) for a total of 1,200 participants. A feasibility trial with tribal youth will guide the adaptation of the existing IYG curriculum. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has funded the University of Texas Prevention Research Center, which collaborates closely with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, and the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona.

Get Yourself Tested Campaign (GYT)

A project of the Kaiser Family Foundation, Planned Parenthood, MTV, and CDC is one example of a successful reproductive health intervention. GYT promotes personal responsibility regarding sexual health, i.e. getting tested and treated for sexually transmitted infections. As AI/AN people are disproportionately affected by high rates of sexually transmitted infections, including chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, this social marketing campaign was adapted in 2010 to target AI/AN youth.

In collaboration with CDC’s Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) Prevention, CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health helped develop key messages and content, and participated in campaign planning.