Education and Health Collaboration for HIV Prevention

Introduction

Good examples of Education Departments and Health Departments coordinating their efforts to prevent HIV infection among youth are difficult to find. The absence of comprehensive plans, consistent messages, and a smooth network of programs and services inhibits the effective­ness of both departments’ efforts. For instance, the general absence of targeted HIV counseling and testing programs for adolescents who are concerned that their behavior puts them at risk for HIV represents a missed opportunity for prevention education.

Recently, however, a window of opportunity has opened for building linkages that could make both agencies’ efforts to prevent HIV infection more effective. For the first time, health departments are being required to develop their HIV prevention plans with direct community input. Education departments are listed as an element of the community that ought to be involved.