Project of Intermediate Advocates (PIA) - Washington, DC, United States

As part of the AHEAD initiative, free monthly training sessions are offered in the Washington, DC area for all local residents, clients, and staff of community health organisations. These sessions focus on accessing information provided online by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HIV/AIDS organisations, and community resources in education, housing, jobs, and child and family care. A special emphasis is on translating public health information in order to open avenues for communication about health and disease and to encourage individuals to take charge of their own health through early disease testing and health education. PIA also conducts AHEAD training at its office site specifically for HIV-positive persons, who then may be enrolled in a stipend programme to perform community demonstrations of the AHEAD training.

PIA has organised a campaign that offers community presentations and certificate-based hands-on computer workshops to people living with HIV and the people who serve them. Monthly workshops host community residents where trainers teach basic web navigation skills, evaluation strategies for electronic information, and specific web resources on HIV/AIDS and other health issues. Presenters also visit AIDS day treatment centres and community associations to demonstrate health information resources.

PIA also works in an advocacy and consulting capacity to organise meetings with pharmaceutical companies, churches, and HIV-involved community-based organisations throughout the region in an attempt to foster collaborations. For instance, building on the strength of Afro-American religions, PIA began developing Health Ministries in local churches and identified each participating church as a place for AIDS 101 classes and an HIV (Ora Sure) community test site.

Technology, Health, HIV/AIDS.

Southeast Washington, DC is a historically low income African-American community. HIV infection rates in Washington, DC have been compared to some of the most devastated countries in Africa. PIA contends that access to health-related information (particularly on HIV/AIDS prevention) is crucial to addressing this problem.

PIA is currently seeking funds for laptop computers to conduct on-site training in the DC area.