Community Champions HIV/AIDS Advocates Mobilization Project

The Community Champions HIV/AIDS Advocates Mobilization Project (CHAMP) is a community- based intervention research study conducted by the Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment (At present, CAAT-Community Alliance for Accessible Treatment) in partnership with five HIV/AIDS service organizations and researchers from health and academic institutions. The goal of the study is to address HIV stigma through collective empowerment, capacity building, and community championship.

CHAMP evaluated the effectiveness of two stigma- reduction interventions study in reducing HIV stigma: Acceptance Commitment Training (ACT) and Social Justice Capacity Building (SJCB).

ACT promoted psychological flexibility through experiential learning. That is, individuals were better able to face their thoughts as just thoughts. This allowed them to move past thoughts that may restrict or hinder them; psychological flexibility also helps individuals clarify their values and guides them in taking the appropriate actions. SJCB promoted collective empowerment through critical dialogue, increased understanding of social justice, and health equity; through collaborative and experiential learning, SJCB enhanced individual capacity in critical health literacy, systemic advocacy, and community mobilization.

We engaged PLHIV (People Living with HIV) and non-PLHIV community leaders (CLs) from faith-based, media, arts, and social justice sectors in Asian, Black, and Latino communities in the Greater Toronto Area to participate in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to receive group training in SJCB or SJCB+ACT. We evaluated the impact of the interventions through data collected right before and after the interventions. This was followed by another evaluation after three and nine months. We used a combination of questionnaires, focus groups, and individual interviews. In addition, participants submitted activity logs that documented the specific HIV championship activities they engaged in over nine months after completing the interventions.

Our CHAMPS-In-Action Training manual is published as an online E-book at the TMU Pressbooks platform. Read More…
or go direct to the TMU Pressbook platform to vist the manual.

Following are the final report and recordings of KTE activities

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