Ethnography and Outreach: The Benefits of Team Work

Abstract

In 1991, the National Institute on Drug Abuse sponsored a Minority AIDS Information and Exchange Project (MAIDEP) (NIDA Contract #271-90-8400). One component of MAIDEP focused on AIDS risk behavior and AIDS prevention in high-risk, "hard-to-reach," minority populations. This four-city, twelve-month ethnographic study sought to identify AIDS-related risk behaviors among minority injection drug users (IDUs) and their sexual partners, specifically targeting African Americans, Hispanics, West Indians, and Native Americans. The primary research goals included: a) locating major barriers to AIDS/HIV prevention; b) identifying aspects of culture, social relationships, and health care seeking behavior that could provide the basis for HIV/AIDS prevention programs; and c) providing the basis for culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS prevention models for similar ethnic minority communities across the country. Integral to the research agenda was the provision of important community services, namely, educating IDUs and their sexual partners about AIDS and methods of protection and helping them to access local health and social services when necessary.