This workshop will describe an innovative evidence-based prevention navigation approach used in a university setting to educate students about substance use and transmission of HIV, viral hepatitis C (HCV), and other STIs implemented with funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and delivered by peers with lived experience under Project ACCESS (Achieving College Completion through Engaged Support Services). These peers with lived experience with health disparities engage with students in spaces in which they naturally congregate to have conversations about sexual health, substance use, and other well-being areas using a Motivational Interviewing framework to discuss prevention and treatment of STIs and provide timely and responsive referrals to HIV and STI testing and resources during brief Well-being Check-ins. Presenters will discuss evidence supporting this approach in reducing substance use and STIs and increasing health literacy, demonstrate the prevention navigation approach, and discuss its benefits in addressing health disparities.   

Presenters: Jessica L. Martin, Licensed Psychologist; M. Dolores Cimini, Licensed Psychologist; Cara L. Fresquez, MAC-P, and Evan E. Ozmat, MS, University at Albany, SUNY, Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research 

Moderator: Danielle Leonard, AIDS Institute