Knowledge Item:
CA-Metro DC Collaborative-02
Findings from the Evaluation of the
1998 Fighting for Our Lives Training
Fighting for Our Lives is a series of training workshops designed
to empower women living with HIV/AIDS to advocate for care and services in the
metropolitan area around Washington, D.C. A major goal of the Fighting for Our Lives
program is to provide a safe opportunity for women with HIV/AIDS to get together to talk,
gain support, and learn and strengthen their advocacy skills to help themselves and
others. The program also is designed to encourage women to attend policy meetings and
forums where critical decisions about AIDS-related programming and funding are made.
The 1998 Fighting for Our Lives
Training Evaluation Report shows how the "Fighting for Our Lives" Training was a uniquely
creative and effective method for nurturing the leadership skills of women with HIV/AIDS. The second annual "Fighting for Our
Lives" Training took place in Washington, D.C. on June 20, 1998 (Session 1)
and June 27, 1998 (Session 2). Women living with HIV/AIDS were invited to the training
sessions and were provided a stipend for their participation. The majority of the 58 women
living with HIV/AIDS who attended these two sessions – i.e., 55 in Session 1 and 40
in Session 2 – were African American women, with smaller proportions of Latinas and
Caucasian women, which is representative of the AIDS epidemic among women in the
Metropolitan DC area. Forty-one of Session 1 participants (74.5 percent) and 39 of Session
2 participants (97.5 percent) completed an anonymous, self-administered survey that
allowed the participants to privately express their opinions about the usefulness and
quality of the trainings. Thirty-five women from Session 1 (63.6 percent) and 29 from
Session 2 (72.5 percent) participated in a one-on-one interview during which time they
were asked about their attendance at and opinions about the training workshops, the
usefulness of the training sessions, and the program’s impact on the
participants’ involvement in policy and planning meetings.
Knowledge Item Citation: Huba, G. J., Melchior, L. A., Panter, A. T., and the HRSA/HAB SPNS Cooperative Agreement Steering Committee (1998-2001). Knowledge Item:
CA-Metro DC Collaborative-02 from HRSA/HAB's SPNS Cooperative Agreements on Innovative Models of Care, The Measurement Group Knowledge Base on HIV/AIDS Care, Online at
www.TheMeasurementGroup.com.
Last Updated:
March 25, 2005
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