Purpose of the Intervention - Essay Example

"Purpose of the Intervention" is a remarkable example of a paper on the health system. 
The prevalence of the HIV pandemic in the United States has significantly increased over the last two decades especially among women of African-American and Latin American descent. To address the vulnerability of women to HIV/AIDS, the Real AIDS Prevention Project (RAPP), a community-level intervention, has been developed with the aim of reaching as many vulnerable individuals as possible within the shortest time frame. These interventions are designed to change the attitudes, perspectives, and awareness of people to the reality of the pandemic. Ultimately though, the intervention is geared towards curbing the spread of the pandemic among the populous and women in particular (Collins & Tomlinson, 2014).

Diffusion of Innovation

Diffusion of innovation is a theory that seeks to explain the manner in which cultures accept and apply innovative ideas and technologies (Kaminski, 2011). Following successful demonstration projects of the RAPP intervention, the CDC, through its Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions (DEBI) initiative, went forward to try and implement the project in three distinct phases; community assessment for data collection purposes, community involvement, and sustainability phase. A participatory approach that included a training component was used to enhance the capacity of community agencies in implementing the project. The approach adopted the use of peer as well as community networks, small group activities, role model narrations, and stage-based encounters in integrating the project features into the lifestyles of community members (Collins & Tomlinson, 2014).

Objectives and Methodology of the Intervention

The program acknowledged that the spread of HIV/AIDS was a factor of behavioral patterns that are easily influenced by external factors as well as peer pressure. A critical feature of the program was, therefore, focused on influencing social and behavioral patterns of target individuals through the use of iconic figures within the community. A key objective of the project was to promote the use of condoms and bleach among targeted groups such as the youth, injection drug users, and their sexual partners, female sex workers, and gay men.

The RAPP is an evidence-based initiative. As such, it was necessary for its implementers to objectively determine whether it had triggered an impact among the targeted. One method used to determine its success was the Mpowerment study, which focused on gay or bisexual men. It revealed that participants of the program had significantly reduced the rates at which they had unprotected intercourse. Another approach used was the Popular Opinion Leader (POL), which empowers opinion leaders to inform people on risk reduction (Malebranche & Bowleg, 2012).

Limitations of the Intervention

Some of the limitations that hindered the implementation process of the program include the lack of organizational capacity and resources, inadequate volunteer training and skills, poor collaboration among the key players and difficulties in matching the interventions with other populations that had not earlier been envisaged under the program (Veniegas et al., 2009). Furthermore, incorporating the initiative into other community undertakings, as well as recruiting and retaining experienced workers proved to be a major inhibitor of the implementation process (Rogers, 2003).

Conclusion

The RAPP has significantly empowered the CDC in combating the spread of HID/AIDS within certain high-risk populations at the community level. The initiative seeks to increase public awareness on the issues surrounding the spread of HIV/AIDS while at the same time promoting a social and proper social and environmental condition that will help curb the spread of the disease. Despite several challenges facing its implementation process, diffusion of the RAPP is slowly gaining ground, an achievement welcomed by the CDC.