A primary goal of Planned Parenthood Center of El Paso’s HIV Prevention and Testing programs is to reduce transmission of HIV in West Texas.  PPCEP works towards this goal by reaching out to individuals at-risk of testing positive for HIV and individuals already infected and at-risk of transmitting the virus to others.  The breadth of the endeavors are carried out through prevention education, evidence based interventions, case management services, and risk reduction counseling.  Clients are encouraged to participate in an HIV/AIDS prevention program where they will play a role in putting together their own risk reduction plan and learn valuable information to promote personal responsibility.  All services are provided in a culturally sensitive manner and are offered in English or in Spanish.

Prevention Education for the Community At-large

HIV Health Education and Risk Reduction (HE/RR) Services – HE/RR provides individual and group level interventions to persons at-risk of becoming infected with HIV or if already infected, of spreading the disease to others.  Staff conducts extended level interventions through street outreach activities at area bars, nightclubs, tattoo parlors, shooting galleries and other areas where high-risk population members are known to gather.

The program also provides age and culturally sensitive education that teaches individuals the skills to make positive decisions about sexual activity, condom usage, and to reduce individual risk behaviors.  Sessions are conducted at various locations such as:  prisons, halfway houses, juvenile detention facilities, substance abuse treatment centers, shelters for victims of violence and alternative school settings.  Appropriate educational materials are distributed with each session based on the audience’s age, primary language, and educational level.

Interventions for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and the Questioning Community

MPowerment Project (Evidence Based Intervention), locally known as Greater El Paso Outings, provides an alternative social setting for gay/bisexual men and promotes healthy lifestyles, safer sex practices and a sense of community ownership.  The Mpowerment project has three main components:  1) outreach (formal and informal) to promote the programs and recruit gay/bisexual men for Mgroups and the Core Group. 2) Mgroup, a men’s group that receives specialized training on safer sex practices and healthier relationships, that in turn advocates prevention messages in the gay community; and, 3) Core Group, a circle of gay men who come together to discuss the goals and objectives of the Mpowerment project to increase healthier lifestyles among gay/bisexual men and change community norms.

Public Opinion Leader (Evidence Based Intervention), locally known as Manhunter, is a community-level HIV prevention intervention that helps to create a social environment where gay/bisexual men feel comfortable and empowered to make decisions that avoid high-risk sexual behaviors.  Respected and well-liked gay men are recruited to engage in peer relation activities to help reduce HIV infection and change the “social norms” in the gay community.  The intervention method is based on the Diffusion of Innovation theory, which asserts that new ideas are spread among individuals.  This method draws on credible and highly regarded “Opinion Leaders” to influence attitudes or inspire innovation within social networks.

Young People’s Project, funded by the Border AIDS Partnership, is a peer led youth education program.  The program targets high-risk adolescents, ages 14-17, and young adults, ages 18-25, and encourages them to lead safer and healthier lifestyles by educating them about risk reduction/safer sex, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), Hepatitis A, B, and C, behavior modification, birth control methods, stress management, sexual responsibility, human sexuality, substance abuse prevention, building self-esteem, and improving communication skills.  Uppermost, the program teaches young leaders the skills to pass their recently learned knowledge onto others.

Interventions for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention

Project SMART (Evidence Based Intervention), funded by the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Gill Foundation, is a program specifically designed for injecting drug users in an inpatient treatment setting.  The program uses a seven-session curriculum that addresses cognitive behavioral skills; provides an emphasis on harm reduction (needle bleaching) and safer sex practices (proper condom usage).  The goal of the program is to coach participants to reduce the risks and harms of becoming infected with HIV.  Activities include role playing, negotiating harm reduction and safer sex practices and identifying triggers that may lead to relapse.

Safety Counts (Evidence Based Intervention), is a program aimed at reducing and preventing HIV and viral hepatitis transmission caused through unsafe drug use and high risk sexual behaviors among injecting, non-injecting, and crack cocaine users.  The intervention is a behaviorally focused, evidence based, eight-session intervention, which includes both structured and unstructured group and individual level activities aimed at harm reduction over a four to six month period.

Interventions for Women

Real AIDS Prevention Project (RAPP) (Evidence Based Intervention) is a program that targets hard to reach heterosexual women of child bearing age, between the ages of 14 to 35, at-risk for HIV infection and unwanted pregnancy.  The program is designed to reduce HIV infection by increasing condom use among women and their partners.  Participants receive HIV counseling, testing and referral services (CTR). HIV testing is provided through a confidential and anonymous process using the OraQuick Advanced Rapid HIV test.  The Real AIDS Prevention Project also incorporates peer outreach, small group activities, personal success stories, role models, and culturally appropriate educational and reading materials.  The program introduces individuals to the importance of, as well as methods of, reducing HIV risk.  RAPP aims to empower women to change community norms so that practicing safer sex is seen as the appropriate thing to do.

Prevention Case Management

Caminos Sanos – Prevention Case Management (PCM) funding from the Texas Department of State Health Services provided the opportunity to create a program entitled “Caminos Sanos” or “Pathways to Healthy Living.”  The program focuses on meeting the specific needs of individuals who are at a high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.  The program provides information and skills to help participants reduce or eliminate their exposure risk.  The program’s target populations are comprised of gay men, partners of HIV-positive individuals, injecting drug users, individuals diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases, individuals diagnosed with tuberculosis, persons who were recently incarcerated, and individuals with multiple sex partners or practicing unprotected sex. Participants attend several sessions that are tailored to address their specific needs.  The program consists of individual-level HIV awareness presentations and education sessions, prevention case management services, and counseling sessions during which participants develop an individualized HIV and STD risk-reduction plan.  The program also requires follow-up sessions to reassess an individual’s needs and progress.

Prevention for Positives – is a similar to the Caminos Sanos program and provides culturally competent intensive prevention case management and wellness education to approximately 40 persons living with HIV/AIDS and also assists with the provision of Ryan White services.  The Prevention Case Management staff makes contact with clients through home visits, office visits, by telephone and through support group sessions.