The AMP! Intervention

Initiative Description: An HIV prevention intervention that uses interactive theatre to educate young people about sexual health. The AMP! intervention consisted of three components delivered to students in ninth grade health classes at the intervention school: 1) Sex Ed Squad Performance developed and delivered by undergraduate students; 2) Condom Demonstration and Negotiation Workshop facilitated by the undergraduate students; and 3) Interactive presentation and discussion facilitated by people living with HIV. The performance and workshop scenarios, designed to amplify the school curriculum, were based on undergraduates’ lived experiences and the questions and challenges they encountered navigating sexual health as high school students.

Study Results: Improved knowledge about STDs and attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS.

Reference: Lightfoot, A.F., Taboada A., Taggart T., Tran T., & Burtaine A. (2015). ‘I learned to be okay with talking about sex and safety’: assessing the efficacy of a theatre-based HIV prevention approach for adolescents in North Carolina. Sex Education, 15(4), 348-363

Level of Evidence: Good