Through keynotes,
panel presentations and roundtables, high - level speakers and
participants will engage in critical discussions on the opportunities and
challenges that lie ahead.
Friday's «Voices from the Field» discussion
panel brings industry experts to share their insights and experiences so
participants get a better understanding of the
challenges.
First, the few studies that have followed
participants beyond the immediate intervention period (6 months or less) have noted a decay of intervention effect on behavior over time, 5,6 prompting members of the National Institutes of Health Consensus
Panel: Intervention to Prevent HIV Risk Behavior to identify sustainability of program effectiveness as 1 of the most important questions that professionals who are concerned with risk prevention face.7 A
challenge for behavioral change interventions in general, this issue is particularly vexing for interventions that target decreased involvement in sex and substance use with advancing age during adolescence.8, 9 Second, multiple behaviors (sex without a condom, sex with multiple partners, substance use before sex, etc) directly and indirectly place individuals at risk for acquisition of HIV.