PLAN PROGRAM OUTLINE

Program Plan Outline

Stop the Stigma
Laquelia Maye-Lewis
HLTH 634
June 30, 2015
http://hivandmsm.weebly.com

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Purpose:
HIV among gay and bisexual men has become an epidemic in the United States. Of all the
groups affected by HIV, no group has been impacted worse than gay and bisexual men. Gay and
bisexual men account for 63% of new HIV infections in the United States, despite only
accounting for 2% of the US population1. There was a 22% increase in HIV infection among gay
and bisexual men ages 13-241. White men who have sex with men (MSM) accounted for 38% of
new HIV infections in 2010, Hispanic/ Latino MSM accounted for 22% of new HIV infections,
and African American men which has been plagued the most by HIV accounts for 36% of new
HIV infections1. By the end of 2011, approximately 311,087 MSM with AIDS had died in the US
since the beginning of the HIV crisis, accounting for 47% of all deaths of persons with AIDS1.
Stop the Stigma HIV plan program will focus on African American MSM with HIV ages 13-24
years of age1. Initiatives to raise awareness, stop stigma, and increase access to care are a few of
the goals this program intends to implement1.
Targeted Audience:
The primary audience that Stop the Stigma will be reaching with be MSM ages 13-24, with a
major emphasis on Black MSM since they are the group most plagued by HIV/AIDS. The
secondary group Stop the Stop will be reaching will be all other MSM.
Characteristics of African American Men Who Have Sex with Men:

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV among gay and bisexual men:
Factsheet. http://www.cdc.gov.hiv/risk/gender/msm/facts/index.html Last update:
March 18, 2014. Accessed: May 21, 2015.

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1) Behavioral: In general, African Americans are more likely to have sexual relations with
others in their community2. Young AA MSM is more likely to partner with older MSM
who tend to have had more sexual encounters, thus having a greater risk of HIV
exposure2.
2) Cultural: It is believed by many scholars and activist that AA is less tolerant of
homosexuality than whites, although there is little research to support this belief3. If AA
were more homophobic, it is likely that their increased level of homophobia results in
greater stigmatization of homosexuality in AA communities, and thus, causing more
closeted behaviors and creates more stress among AA MSM3.
3) Demographic: Factors such as poverty, racial discrimination, lack of access to care,
higher incarceration rates are a few of the issues plaguing the AA community and AA
MSM4. All these factors contribute to the higher prevalence of HIV among AA MSM4.
4) Physical: The higher prevalence of STI/ STDs in the AA community makes this
population particularly AA MSM more vulnerable to HIV4.
5) Psychographic: Fear of disclosing risk behavior of sexual preference may stop many
from getting tested, prevention and treatment services, and support from family and
friends4.

2Avert. HIV and AIDS among African Americans. http://www.avert.org.hiv-aidsamong-african-americans.htm Last update: February 6, 2014. Accessed: May 21,
2015
3 Lemelle A, Battle J. Black masculinity matters in attitudes towards gay males.
Journal of Homosexuality. http://www.usc.edu/studentaffairs/glbss/PDFS/BlackMenMasculinity.pdg Vol 47(1) 2004. doi:
10.1300/J082v47nol_03
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV among African American youth.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/CDC-Youth-AAs-508.pdf Published:
February 2014. Accessed: May 21, 2015

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Partners of Stop the Stigma:

Stop the Stigma will partner with NC AIDS Action Network to address issues plaguing AA
MSM. Stop the Stigma shares the same beliefs as NC AIDS Action Network, that HIV can be
reduced and the lives of those plagued with this burdensome disease can be improved with
knowledge. NC AIDS Action Network mission is to improve the lives of individuals affected
by HIV through outreach, education, advocacy, and community building5.
Health Communications Strategy Statement:
The target audience of the Stop the Stigma program is the gay and bisexual men who have sex
with men (MSM), the program is particularly , and targeting African American MSM, because
HIV disproportionately affects AA MSM more than any other group. The purpose is to educate
MSM on the dangers of having unprotected intercourse, the importance of knowing their status
as well as their partner status and to put an end to the stigma that plagues this group. As a result,
MSM will be empowered to take control of their health knowing their status and how to maintain
a negative status. Barriers that MSM face is discrimination, lack of knowledge, lack of
awareness of status, and socioeconomic issues. Benefits that MSM who are reached by Stop the
Stigma and the North Carolina AIDS Action Network are free HIV counseling along with
HIV testing, and knowledge on the dangers of unprotected intercourse, and knowledge on
medication adherence if HIV positive and knowledge on how to remain HIV negative if test
negative. The reasons that Stop the Stigma will succeed despite obstacles that MSM may face
are: knowledge is power, by empowering MSM with the information they need they can become
proactive and take control of their health. Free HIV testing will be allow participants to know
5 NC AIDS Action Network. About NC AIDS action network.
http://www.ncaan.org/about.html Accessed: May 21, 2015

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their status which is a major issue affecting the MSM population. The forms of communication
that Stop the Stigma will utilize to gain attention and raise awareness of issue are: flyers,
pamphlets, billboards, and newspapers. Communication initiatives will focus on statistics of HIV
among MSM, the importance of using protection, and health issues that an advanced HIV
diagnosis may bring: fever, weight loss, shortness of breath, weight loss, chronic diarrhea, skin
and mouth lesion, and distorted vision6.
Learner Objective:
By the end of December 2016, 40% of MSM in Eastern North Carolina will be able to
understand the dangers of HIV, preventative efforts they can make to protect themselves, and
know their status as a result of Stop the Stigma initiatives.
The Health Behavior Model:
The health behavior model that will be utilized as a framework for the Stop the Stigma
intervention will be the Health Belief Model. The Health Belief Model will be utilized because it
will allow an insight as to why the MSM population may not participate in the Stop the Stigma
program7. The Health Belief Model will allow insight into how MSM perceive the severity of
HIV/AIDS, their susceptibility of contracting HIV, their perception of benefits they will receive

6 The Mayo Clinic. Diseases and conditions HIV/AIDSsymptoms.

Http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hiv-aids/basics/symptoms/con20013732. Revised: May 20, 2014. Accessed: June 4, 2015
7 US Department of Health and Human Services. Making health communication
programs work: appendix B. The National Institute of Health. National Cancer
Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/publications/health-communication/pink-book.pdf.
Accessed: June 4, 2015.

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from participating in Stop the Stigma, and their perception of barriers they may fear facing as a
result of taking appropriate action to take control of their health2.
The Services Stop the Stigma will be offering:
A) The services that Stop the Stigma will be offering are health seminars that focus on
educating the MSM population on the statistics of HIV, ways that that can avoid
transmission and how to overcome the stigma, discrimination, and myths that surrounds
HIV. Stop the Stigma will be offering free HIV testing, counseling, and free educational
material on HIV/AIDS.
B) The difference between Stop the Stigma and other HIV programs is that Stop the Stigma
will be specifically focusing on the MSM population ages 13 to 24, but will be offering
services to all MSM.
Products:
1. The services that Stop the Stigma will be promoting are: free HIV testing, free
condoms, and educational material.
2. The importance of the services that Stop the Stigma will be offering is that, MSM will
have the opportunity to know their HIV status, ways of preventing transmission,
education on medication adherence, and help with the obstacles they may face such
as: lack of family support, violence, discrimination, and stigma. It meets the need of
the MSM population because they will be aware of their HIV status and they will gain
the ability to take control of their health.
Price:
1) The services that will be offered to Stop the Stigma program participants will be free
of charge.

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2) The reason there will be no charge for the services that Stop the Stigma will be
offering is because many MSM may not have the funds to go to a doctor, and not
knowing their status is detrimental to society because if one is unaware of their HIV
status, it is easier for the HIV to be transmitted to many others, which will wreck
havoc and continue to worsen the HIV epidemic.
Promotion:
1) Stop the Stigma is a necessity Eastern, NC. Stop the Stigma has the potential to affect
the lives of many MSM in a positive manner by educating and raising awareness of
the effects of HIV, and what they can do to take control of their health. Stop the
Stigma has the ability to reduce the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
2) Stop the Stigma plans to promote its services via radio, TV, flyers, newspaper,
pamphlets, and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Budget:
(1) Year projection cost: $7,414.02
Advertising type
Pamphlets
Radio commercial
TV commercial

Flyers
Billboard
Facebook page
Advertising totals:

Quantity
4,000
(1)-1min commercial to
air 12x per day
(1) Crawl spot at bottom
of screen to air 24x per
day for 12 months
15,000
Billboard posting for 18
months
1
6 advertising types

Cost
$589.60
$4,000
$1,200

$664.42
$2,160
Free
$7,414.02

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STOP THE STIGMA OUTCOME EVALUATION

The focus of Stop the Stigma is to educate Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) on the
dangers of having unprotected intercourse, the importance of knowing their HIV status as well as
the status of their partner, and to put an end to the stigma that plagues MSM. The target audience
of the Stop the Stigma program will be gay and bisexual MSM. Stop the Stigma program
will be particularly targeting African American MSM, because HIV disproportionately affects
AA men more than any other group. The urgence of this program is to reduce the epidemic of
HIV among the MSM population. MSM accounted for 63% of all new HIV infections, despite
only accounting for 2% of the US population8. According to the CDC, in 2010, the MSM
population had a 22% increase in the number of HIV infections among MSM ages 13-241. Stop
the Stigma will be collaborating with NC AIDS Action Network to accomplish its mission.
Strategies for communicating information will be conducted through health seminars and media
broadcast. In order to evaluate how effective a program is, an outcome evaluation has to be
implemented. An outcome evaluation is essential because it shows how well the program has met
its communication objectives and what you might change of improve to make it more effective9.
There are three things that an outcome evaluates measures 1) Access to design: Are you doing

8 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV among gay and bisexual
men. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/gender/MSMfacts/index.html Last update: March
18, 2015. Accessed: June 18, 2015
9 US Dept. of Health & Human Services. Making health communication programs
work. National Institutes of Health. http://www.cancer.gov/publications/healthcommunications/pink-book.pdf. Accessed: June 18, 2015.

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the correct thing? 2) Implementation: Are you doing things correctly? 3) Outcome: Are you
doing enough to make a change?10.
An evaluator can determine that Stop the Stigma is doing the correct thing, because it targeted
a population that is affected the most by the HIV epidemic and has made significant effort to
combat the issues that has been contributing to the epidemic of HIV among the MSM population.
Stop the Stigma is doing things correctly because it has a set target audience and its plan to
reach its target audience by multiple means of communication to include: media, radio, health
seminars, pamphlets, and flyers. Stop the Stigma has placed much focused on raising
awareness of the stigma, discrimination, and violence that plagues the MSM population. Stop
the Stigma has also initiated free HIV testing at its health seminars to help program participants
become aware of their status and to take control of their health. Stop the Stigma.

10 Parvanta C, Nelson D, Parvanta S, Harner R. Essentials of public health

communication. Sudbury, MA. Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC; 2011.

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10

References:
1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV among gay and bisexual men:
Factsheet. http://www.cdc.gov.hiv/risk/gender/msm/facts/index.html Last update: March
18, 2014. Accessed: May 21, 2015.
2) Avert. HIV and AIDS among African Americans. http://www.avert.org.hiv-aids-amongafrican-americans.htm Last update: February 6, 2014. Accessed: May 21, 2015
3) Lemelle A, Battle J. Black masculinity matters in attitudes towards gay males. Journal of
Homosexuality. http://www.usc.edu/studentaffairs/glbss/PDFS/BlackMenMasculinity.pdg Vol 47(1) 2004. doi:
10.1300/J082v47nol_03
4) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV among African American youth.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/CDC-Youth-AAs-508.pdf Published:
February 2014. Accessed: May 21, 2015
5) NC AIDS Action Network. About NC AIDS action network.
http://www.ncaan.org/about.html Accessed: May 21, 2015
6) The Mayo Clinic. Diseases and conditions HIV/AIDSsymptoms.
Http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hiv-aids/basics/symptoms/con-20013732
7) US Department of Health and Human Services. Making health communication programs
work: appendix B. The National Institute of Health. National Cancer Institute.

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11

http://www.cancer.gov/publications/health-communication/pink-book.pdf. Accessed:
June 4, 2015.
8) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV among gay and bisexual men.
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/gender/MSMfacts/index.html Last update: March 18, 2015.
Accessed: June 18, 2015
9) US Dept. of Health & Human Services. Making health communication programs work.
National Institutes of Health. http://www.cancer.gov/publications/healthcommunications/pink-book.pdf. Accessed: June 18, 2015.
10) Parvanta C, Nelson D, Parvanta S, Harner R. Essentials of public health
communication. Sudbury, MA. Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC; 2011.