Curriculum Components

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For Cuidate in Spanish click here
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Click below to download a copy of the ¡Cuídate! Preview Kit!
Cuidate Preview Kit

¡Cuídate! Core Elements vs. Key Characteristics Guide

Chosen by the Center for Disease Control & Prevention as a “Best-Evidence Intervention”

“Take care of yourself!”

AUTHORS

Antonia M. Villarruel, Ph.D, R.N., F.A.A.N., Loretta Sweet Jemmott III, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., John B. Jemmott III, Ph.D

OVERVIEW OF THE CURRICULUM

The word ¡Cuídate! means “take care of yourself,” which is the theme of this culturally-based program designed to reduce HIV sexual risk among Latino youth. This program is an adaptation of the Be Proud! Be Responsible! program. Today all teens, including Latinos, face many health risks related to sexual behavior, such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV and AIDS. ¡Cuídate! helps Latino youth develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to reduce their risk for HIV. The program, recommended for use with grades 8-11, emphasizes risk reduction strategies such as sexual abstinence and condom use through activities that allow youth to:

• Acquire correct and reliable information about risk and disease.
• Develop attitudes that support safe decision-making.
• Build skills to be able to abstain from sex and use condoms.
• Reinforce confidence in their ability to practice safer sex.

By using the ¡Cuídate! program, you will be able to help teens develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to act in ways that will support good health and protect them from serious risks related to sexual behavior.

¡Cuídate! is unique because it addresses cultural beliefs related to sexual risk behaviors that are common among many Latino subgroups. Specifically, ¡Cuídate! includes cultural beliefs related to abstinence and condom use. Program activities show these attitudes and beliefs in a positive way. Aspects of Latino culture, such as familialism and gender-role expectations, including machismo, are also built into the program. These values are used to show abstinence and condom use as culturally acceptable and effective ways to avoid unplanned pregnancy or STDs, including HIV/AIDS.

GOALS OF THE CURRICULUM

The ¡Cuídate! program has three primary goals. They are to:

1. Influence attitudes, behavioral and normative beliefs, and self-efficacy regarding HIV risk-reduction behaviors, specifically abstinence and condom use, by incorporating the theme of ¡Cuídate!—taking care of oneself, one’s partner, family, and community.
2. Highlight cultural values that support safer sex, and reframe cultural values that are perceived as barriers to safer sex.
3. Emphasize how cultural values influence attitudes and beliefs in ways that affect HIV risk-associated sexual behavior.

Scientific studies have proven that, if used correctly, ¡Cuídate! can successfully achieve all of these goals.
The focus of ¡Cuídate! is to increase each participant’s skill level and self-efficacy in communicating and negotiating with sexual partners about abstinence and condom use. The program also helps teens develop the technical skills they need for correct condom use. ¡Cuídate! provides important information about the causes, diagnosis, transmission, and prevention of HIV and STDs, as well as the risk of HIV infection for Latino youth.

TYPES OF ACTIVITES

The ¡Cuídate! program includes learning activities such as small group discussions, videos, games, demonstrations, and role-plays. Activities are designed to help teens get the skills they need to negotiate and practice abstinence and condom use. These activities make teens aware of how choices about their sexual behavior can affect their health. The activities show how safer sexual behavior can help avoid pregnancy and STDs, like HIV and AIDS.

FORMAT & LENGTH

The ¡Cuídate! program is divided into six 1-hour modules. Each module is set up in the same way. You should become familiar with the basic layout of the modules. This will help you get the most out of the information offered to you and help you use it effectively.
Below is an outline of the curriculum modules followed by a brief explanation of the meaning or purpose of each item. This will help you know how to use the curriculum most effectively each time you review it.

MODULE OUTLINE

• Goals
• Preview
• Objectives
• Strategies/Methods
• Materials Needed
• Time Required
• Rationale for each activity
• Procedures and detailed Facilitator Notes
• Small-Group Activities
• Curriculum Materials

To listen to a brief description of the ¡Cuídate! curriculum, click here and you will be taken to CDC’s Podcast page

Training is recommended.

Target Audience

Latino adolescents in grades 8-11. ¡Cuídate! is unique because it addresses cultural beliefs related to sexual risk behaviors that are common among many Latino subgroups. Various aspects of Latino culture are built into the program.

Research & Articles

The ¡Cuídate! program was tested in a study that took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with 553 mostly Puerto Rican Latino youth (249 boys and 304 girls) aged 13 to 18 years. (1) The study was repeated with 829 youth in Monterrey, Mexico (371 boys and 459 girls).

(2) Teens were randomly assigned to participate in either the ¡Cuídate! program or a health-promotion control program that focused on other health issues that affect Latinos. ¡Cuídate! was presented in both English and Spanish in Philadelphia and in Spanish only in Mexico. The program was delivered in two sessions at one week intervals in both the U.S. and Mexico.
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1 Villarruel, A. M., Jemmott, J. B. III, and Jemmott, L. S. (2006). A randomized controlled trial testing an HIV prevention intervention for Latino youth. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 160(8), 772–77.
2 Gallegos, E. C., Villarruel, A. M., Loveland-Cherry, C., Ronis, D. L., & Zhou, Y. (2008). Intervention to reduce sexual risk behavior in adolescents. Results of a ramdomized control trial. Salud Publica de Mexico, 50 (1), 59-66.

Findings showed that the intervention students had significantly fewer lifetime sexual partners, were more likely to report increased condom use over time and had a markedly greater functional knowledge of HIV and AIDS than student in comparison groups.

Curriculum Video Samples

Video Samples coming soon.