Sistering, Informing, Healing, Living, and Empowering
An Evidence-Based Practice
This practice has been Archived and is no longer maintained.
Description
Sistering, Informing, Healing, Living, and Empowering (SiHLE) is an intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors among sexually experienced African American adolescent girls. Small groups of African American adolescents are led by an African American female health educator and peer educators in interactive discussions about the risks of sexual behavior including sexually transmitted diseases, HIV transmission, and pregnancy. Through role playing and skills-building the intervention provides girls with strategies to reduce risk such as abstaining from sex, using condoms, and having fewer sexual partners. The program also emphasizes ethnic and gender pride, and the importance of healthy relationships.
Goal / Mission
The SiHLE intervention aims to reduce sexual risk behaviors among sexually experienced African American adolescents.
Results / Accomplishments
An evaluation more than 500 African American girls participating in the study reported reductions in risky sexual behaviors when compared to a control group that received general health education. At 6- and 12-month follow-ups, intervention participants reported significantly greater increases over participants in the control group in the following behaviors: consistent condom use, proportion of condom-protected vaginal sex acts, frequency of applying condoms on a sex partner, and condom use during last sex. Over the same time periods, women in the intervention group reported fewer new vaginal sex partners and episodes of unprotected vaginal sex. SiHLE participants were significantly less likely to become pregnant in the 6 months following intervention and significantly less likely acquire a new Chlamydia infection in the 12 months of follow-up than those in the control group.
About this Promising Practice
Organization(s)
Rollins School of Public Health
Primary Contact
Dr. Ralph J. DiClemente
Rollins School of Public Health
Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
1518 Clifton Road NE, Room 554
Atlanta, GA 30322
rdiclem@sph.emory.edu
Rollins School of Public Health
Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
1518 Clifton Road NE, Room 554
Atlanta, GA 30322
rdiclem@sph.emory.edu
Topics
Health / Family Planning
Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
Health / Adolescent Health
Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
Health / Adolescent Health
Organization(s)
Rollins School of Public Health
Source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Date of publication
2004
Date of implementation
1995
Location
Birmingham, AL
For more details
Target Audience
Teens, Women