The Mpowerment Project
This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2010) |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/68/Mpowerment_logo1990.jpg)
The Mpowerment Project[1] is a model community building and HIV prevention program that has been designed specifically to address the needs of young gay/bisexual men ages 18 – 29. It is the first documented HIV prevention intervention for young gay/bisexual men to succeed in reducing sexual risk behavior.[2] The program has been carefully developed, evaluated and continually refined over the course of 15 years by prominent behavioral scientists from the University of California, San Francisco's Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, a leading-edge HIV/AIDS research institution.
In 1999, it was one of the first programs to be included in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Compendium of HIV Prevention Interventions with Evidence of Effectiveness.[3] It is the only program included that is designed specifically to address the HIV Prevention needs of young gay/bisexual men and other young men who have sex with men (MSM)[citation needed].
History
Recognizing the critical need for HIV prevention programs for young gay/bisexual men, Dr. Susan Kegeles and Dr. Robert Hays, research psychologists at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) at the University of California, San Francisco, applied for funding to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to design, implement, and evaluate a community-level HIV prevention program for young gay/bisexual men. Their five-year grant was awarded in 1990.
![Mpowerment project logo.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/37/Mpowerment_Project_UCSF_logo.jpg/220px-Mpowerment_Project_UCSF_logo.jpg)
They pilot tested the program in Santa Cruz, CA. Based on encouraging results there, they refined the program and implemented it in a second community (Eugene, OR), where it was named the Mpowerment Project. Following the program's success in Eugene, it was replicated in Santa Barbara, CA. In 1995 Drs. Kegeles and Hays received a second five-year grant form the NIMH to further develop the program for use in major metropolitan areas across the U.S. Dr. Greg Rebchook, a research psychologist who had worked at a department of public health and at a community-based organization, joined the team in 1996. This new grant enabled them to implement the Mpowerment Project in Albuquerque, NM – where the project was called MPower (1997–1998); and in Austin, TX – where the project was called Austin Men's Project / AMP (1999–2000).[4] Since 2002, numerous organizations have implemented the program with varying success.
The Mpowerment manual was released in 2002 and updated in 2010. The individually bound modules cover the following program components:
- Module 1: Overview
- Module 2: Community Assessment – Knowing your community
- Module 3: Implementing Agency
- Module 4: Coordinators
- Module 5: Core Group & Volunteers
- Module 6: Project Space
- Module 7: Formal Outreach – Social outreach events and outreach team
- Module 8: Informal Outreach
- Module 9: M-Groups
- Module 10: Publicizing the Mpowerment Project
- Module 11: The Community Advisory Board
- Module 12: Monitoring and Evaluation
- Module 13: M-Group Facilitator’s Guide
- Module 14: M-Group Meeting Guide
Mpowerment Projects in the United States
Alabama
- Birmingham - MPowerment
Alaska
- Anchorage – Adam & Steve
California
- San Luis Obispo – Fusion
- Los Angeles – MPOWER OC
Florida
- Ft. Lauderdale – MProject
- Wilton Manors - SOMOS
Georgia
- Atlanta – Evolution Project
Idaho
- Pocatello – Genesis Project
Illinois
- Champaign-Urbana – Mpowerment CU
Indiana
- Bloomington – IlluMENate
Louisiana
- Lafayette – FM Project
- New Orleans – reVision
Michigan
- Detroit – MPowerment Detroit
Minnesota
Nevada
- Las Vegas - Vegas MPowerment
New Mexico
- Albuquerque – MPower
North Carolina
- Raleigh – M Club
Ohio
- Dayton – Mu Crew
Texas
- El Paso – The M Factor
- Austin – Q Austin
Utah
- Salt Lake City – The Village
Vermont
- Brattleboro – The Men's Program
- Burlington – Gay Leisurely Activities for Men (GLAM)
Washington
- Seattle – The MPowerment Project
West Virginia
- Morgantown – Morgantown Mpowerment Project
See also
References
- ^ Kegeles, S.M., Rebchook, G., Zovod, B., Tebbetts, S., Sweeney, D., The Mpowerment Project Manual, University of California San Francisco (2002)
- ^ Kegeles, S.M., Hayes, R. B., & Coates. T.M. (1996) The Mpowerment Project: A community-level HIV prevention internvetion for young gay men. American Journal of Public Health, 86(8), II29-II36.
- ^ "Compendium of HIV Prevention Interventions with Evidence of Effectiveness". Retrieved 2008-02-07.
- ^ Kegeles, S.M., Hays, R.B., Pllack, L. M. & Coates, T.J. (1999). Mobilizing young gay and bisexual men for HIV prevention: a two-community study. AIDS, I3(I3), 1753–1762.
- Kegeles, S.M., Rebchook, G., Hamiga, J. Sweeney, D., Tebbetts.S, Williams.R, Zovod. B, The Mpowerment Project Manual, University of California San Francisco (2010)
- Center for Disease Control (CDC) Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions (DEBI) site. www.effectiveinterventions.org
External links
- The Mpowerment Project — official website
- The Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California San Francisco
- The Mpowerment Project's channel on YouTube