1. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Sarita K. Davis, Ph.D., MSW Georgia State University Valuing: HIV Prevention Education Evaluation

2. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Aims of the Presentation The primary aim of this presentation is to explore whose values are used in HIV prevention education and how those values (mis)shape the evaluation landscape. The secondary aim is to illustrate how a culturally centered approach to evaluation can expand the relevance and inclusiveness of HIV prevention education evaluation.

3. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 HIV and African Americans HIV disproportionately affects African Americans in the US MSM have a prevalence of 33%-46% in major metropolitan cities 1, 2 Of the total number of new HIV infections in US women in 2009, 57% occurred in blacks, 21% were in whites, and 16% were in Hispanics/Latinas. 3

4. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 HIV Prevention Education Evaluation Outcomes In a meta-analysis of HIV Prevention Education Interventions, CDC found that while all women had significant increases in HIV knowledge at post-test, all effects dissipated for African American women after 3 months 4.

5. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Reasons Previous research Shortage of available men makes condom negotiation challenging Lack of power Socio-economic status Socialized images of Black women

6. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 In other words… Culture Context History

7. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Values and Cultural Competence in Social Work Evaluation Discussions of values and cultural competence in social work typically occur within the context of social work practice, but rarely in evaluation. Researchers have long advocated that social inquiry should be performed within a context of culture (Baugh & Guion, 2006). Several social work researchers advocate cultural grounding to tell the stories of the people we serve, acknowledging their lived experiences, realities, and other ways of knowing (Mertens, 1999; Schiele, 2000, Sleebey, 1994).

8. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 The Outside Voice All too often the stories of a marginalized people or culture are developed by outsiders informed by outside influences often speak to the realities of African American and stereotypic notions that are often irrelevant or inconsistent with the community. The result is an alien imposed definition of the phenomenon, the research question, exploration, and its criteria for success. Disturbingly absent from research about African American communities is an authentically African interpretation of the subject of inquiry.

9. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 A Strategy One strategy to address this issue is for social work evaluators to engage in culturally informed praxis at the problem formulation stage. Using culturally relevant factors with socially constructed knowledge to conceptualize, design, implement, and assess the subject of inquiry can lessen the aforementioned biases.

10. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Definitions There are two key concepts that must be defined in order to understand valuing and cultural competence in the context of this presentation: African-centered Culture

11. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 African-centered To ‘ center ’ simply means to view a phenomenon from the standpoint of the African community. Asante Nobles Karenga Kershaw

12. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Centering in Evaluation When the Afrocentric perspective is applied to Social Work evaluation, this perspective can help generate information on the implications of human behavior and social events in the lives of people of African descent (Schiele, 2000).

13. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Culture… Matters, in the past, in the present and in the future! Is a geo-political reality formed by a group ’ s struggle to obtain materials in the context of their daily lives (Giroux, 1983; Akinyela, 1996). Is derived out of the lived experiences of different social groups and the practical activities of ownership, control, and maintenance of communities and institutions.

14. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Location of the Evaluator Hood (1998, 2001) argues that evaluators of color are more able to bridge the gap of cultural nuances because of their shared understanding of African realities. Madison (1992) says evaluators who have minimal contact with the target population, regardless of ethnicity, may not be the most suitable to decide whether or not a particular intervention is appropriate for meeting their needs.

15. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 A Centered Perspectve According to Kershaw (2004), we should ask some or all of the following questions: How did/do they understand relevant historical and contemporary phenomena related to the question? How have their attitudes and behaviors been shaped and mis- shaped by this phenomenon? What are the factors that they see as important? How do we know? Where are their words? When are they speaking? And, where is their voice?

16. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Valuing and Building Cultural Competence in Social Work Evaluation Decolonizing Research Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples

17. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 The Approach Smith uses the metaphor of ocean tides to represent the movement, change, process, life, inward and outward flows of ideas, reflections and actions. The four directions north, south, east, and west identified here – decolonization, healing, transformation, and mobilization – represent processes. The ocean also has four tides: moving from the outermost to inner tides: survival, recovery, development, and self-determination.

18. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Current HIV Prevention Inquiry Foci Behavior-oriented Number of partners; Use of protection; Substance use Knowledge of HIV transmission Assumption: If you recognize your risk you will change your behavior

19. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011

20. HIV Prevention Evaluation that Values Voices/Experiences Behavior-oriented Number of partners; Use of protection; Substance use Knowledge of HIV transmission Assumption: If you recognize your risk you will change your behavior Historical context Societal perceptions of the black female body and worth Cultural context How are cultural perceptions internalized and perpetuated by family, peers, and community Assumption: If you don’t know your history you are bound to repeat it.

21. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Centering: Finding Voice and Lived Experience Toni Cade Bambara (1971) argued that there are harmful effects of accepting the prevailing gender norms by African Americans. The usual notions of sexual differentiation in roles is an obstacle to political consciousness, that at the way those terms are generally defined and acted upon in this part of the world is a hindrance to full development.

22. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 How is this relevant to HIV Prevention Evaluation? The aforementioned example falls within all the parameters of centrism, which is met by locating African descended people to their centers and granting legitimacy through their voice, experience, and deeds. In this example, centering refers to the historical and social context that influenced our sexual relationships for over 400 years as well as our understanding of how the myths of oppression continue to influence our thoughts and behaviors today.

23. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Centrism and Finding Voice In centering the phenomenon in the lived experience of Africans in America other culturally relevant questions emerge which, include but are not limited to: 1) How the effects of enslavement have disconnected black men and women from their bodies? 2) What is the extent to which oppressive myths have shaped our contemporary body images?; 3) How do these historical factors influence our gender identities and sexual practices?; 4) How can we reclaim and transform negative body images?; 5) How can we mobilize to perpetuate this re-claimed notions of self?

24. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 Summary Ultimately, we believe this African-centered framework alone or in conjunction with western methodologies can help social work researchers integrate cultural competence into their research agendas that support self- determination for the communities they serve.

25. American Evaluation Association, Anaheim California, 2011 References 1.Valleroy, L., Mckeller, D. et al. (2001). HIV Prevalence and associated risks with young men who have sex with men, JAMA, 284 (2), 198-204. 2.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2005). HIV Prevalence, Unrecognized infection, and Testing among Men who have Sex with Men -Five US cities, June 2004- April 2005, Monthly Morbidity and Mortality Report, 54:24. 3.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website www.cdc.gov HIV statistics 2009.www.cdc.gov