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Rites of Passage: Cultural Paths for HIV/AIDS Prevention in African American Girls

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Abstract

Despite the development of new technologies and treatments for disease, well-documented health disparities are still occurring among various populations in the USA. Of great concern is the fact that African American women are contracting HIV at about 23 times that of White American women. These statistics suggest the need for interventions targeted toward African American girls who are at risk for becoming the newly infected. Rites of passage programs developed by African American communities within the context of the community, particularly churches, have potential to reduce the numbers of HIV/AIDS cases. Public health nurses along with other professionals are in a position to collaborate with communities to deliver these programs. This chapter discusses rites of passage as important HIV/AIDS prevention strategies for African American girls. A pilot project, “My Sister, Myself,” will be described. The role that the African American church can play in developing, implementing, and sustaining such programs is discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Nursing, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Donna Shambley-Ebron

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  1. Donna Shambley-Ebron
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Correspondence to Donna Shambley-Ebron .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, Tenth Ave. 899, New York, 10019, New York, USA

    Anthony J. Lemelle

  2. , Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State, Blacksburg, 24061, USA

    Wornie Reed

  3. , Sociology and Criminal Justice, Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, 30314, Georgia, USA

    Sandra Taylor

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Shambley-Ebron, D. (2011). Rites of Passage: Cultural Paths for HIV/AIDS Prevention in African American Girls. In: Lemelle, A., Reed, W., Taylor, S. (eds) Handbook of African American Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9616-9_9

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