Released: February 27, 2002
Media contact: Terri Weast at 620-341-5372, weastter@emporia.edu

The Jones Institute for Educational Excellence has received a grant to research what programs are effective in the prevention of HIV in Kansas. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) recently awarded $35,000 to the institute to conduct the study during the 2002 calendar year.

Work is already underway on a questionnaire to be sent out through state medical agencies, hospitals, county health departments, and agencies offering HIV prevention programs. "Besides the data gathered from the surveys, we will meet with focus groups to find out what their experiences have been in receiving information about HIV/AIDS," said Dr. Brian Schrader, who serves as chief researcher on the project and is an associate professor of psychology at Emporia State University.

"KDHE is providing us a way so we can be sure the focus groups are diverse in terms of gender, race, at-risk status, and so on," said Larry Clark, the project's director and Director of Operations for the Jones Institute. "There are also safeguards the state has put in place that will preserve people's privacy."

A report of findings will be issued and presented to KDHE's HIV/AIDS Community Planning Group in January 2003. It is to cover successful prevention services, barriers people have encountered, and recommendations for improvements in prevention services.

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