Community PROMISE is a community-level evidence-based intervention designed to reduce HIV risk behaviors and increase engagement related to the HIV continuum of care through community mobilization, print media, and risk reduction supplies, such as condoms. PROMISE stands for “Peers Reaching Out and Modeling Intervention Strategies" and is based on several behavioral theories: the Stages of Change, Theory of Reasoned Action, and Social Cognitive Theory.

Each Community PROMISE initiative is unique in that it is created in response to community need and in collaboration with community members. As such, it can serve any at-risk population. The intervention was tested in 5 cities across the United States with Black/African American, White, and Latino communities, including intravenous drug users and their sex partners, non-gay identified men who have sex with men, high-risk youth, female sex workers, and high-risk heterosexuals. Community PROMISE has since been used with other populations, such as Native Americans, Asian-Americans, and Pacific Islanders living with HIV.

Community PROMISE was evaluated using a matched comparison group design in six medium-sized to large cities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Community PROMISE results included:

• Significant movement by community members toward consistent condom use with their sexual partners
• Significant increase in condom carrying among members of the communities

Site Activities

• Assess what the organization needs to know about the community before implementation
• Recruit and train community members to serve as peer advocates
• Create role model stories based on personal accounts from community members who have already made risk-reduction behavior changes
• Conduct ongoing evaluation to capture behavior change within the intervention population
• Distribute role model stories and risk reduction supplies

Participant Activities

• Distribute role model stories and risk reduction supplies