Five-Year Evaluation Report: The Sizanani Effect
Executive Summary
This report documents the results of a five-year process of monitoring and evaluation of twelve sessions of Camp Sizanani and includes a synopsis of the program evaluation methodology, description of the intervention, the camper context and background, snapshots of the evaluation results for twelve camp sessions, and recommendation for future implementation and evaluation.
The Intervention: Wrap HIV/AIDS prevention-education in fun and games, combine it with caring adults trained to help weave together threads of new information, feelings of insecurity, and the realities of children’s daily struggles, and you have a powerful intervention known as Camp Sizanani Campers participate in program activity areas including life-skills, nutrition, arts and crafts, theater, sports and adventure, and usually swimming.
The Evaluation Methodology: Campers at Sizanani completed a self-report pre-test and post-test questionnaire designed to assess Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs about HIV/AIDS as well as a questionnaire to document resilience, locus of control and sense of hope and risky behaviors among campers. In addition, campers were asked on the first day to write what they hoped to learn during the camp in the program activity areas (life-skills, nutrition, arts and crafts, theater, sports and adventures, and usually swimming). On the last full day of programming, campers were asked to write what they had learned in the same program areas.
The Results: When the pre-test and post-test evaluation results are compared, important statistically significant gains were made during camp. In addition, the gains were demonstrated across different camp sessions demonstrating program fidelity in delivery, meaning that Camp Sizanani had a statistically significant impact among youth campers on almost all of the measures during each of the camp sessions. In addition, the demographic data documents that the target population that is being served is exposed to and partaking in risky behavior. At the end of the camp, campers showed increased scores on sense of hope, resilience towards life, as well as locus of control. In addition, HIV knowledge scores were significantly increased. HIV-related stigma beliefs and disclosure concerns were significantly decreased.
Recommendations: The program delivery method is working to achieve overall goals. The results regarding change in sense of hope, resilience and locus of control are particularly heartening in that these psychological measures are difficult to measure in a short period of time. There is a need to focus and improve the delivery and retention of HIV Knowledge specifically related to commonly held myths in the culture. Based on the responses to the open-ended questions by campers, the “Sizanani Effect” is more than program activities and HIV prevention education. It is about powerful connections made by campers that their actions can affect their futures and that they can form relationships with caring adults who can be role models for them. Camp Sizanani and the follow-up Youth Clubs empower youth to believe in themselves and have hope for their futures.
The Conclusion: Camp Sizanani is making a positive impact on the lives of the youth who attend camp.
Conclusion
Overall, the result of comparing pre-test and post-test evaluation documents over the five-year monitoring period shows important gains made during camp. In addition, the gains were demonstrated across different camp sessions demonstrating program fidelity in delivery that Camp Sizanani had a statistically significant impact among youth campers on almost all of the measures during each of the camp sessions. In addition, the demographic date documents that the target population that is being served are exposed to and partaking in risky behavior.
At the end of the camp, campers showed increased scores on sense of hope, resilience towards life, as well as locus of control. In addition, HIV knowledge scores were significantly increased. HIV-related stigma beliefs and disclosure concerns were significantly decreased.
There is a need to focus and improve the delivery and retention of HIV Knowledge specifically related to commonly held myths in the culture. An improvement in 45% of the campers on this one scale can be improved. In addition, the gains in perspective on HIV testing are important to note. Given the strong results for sense of hope and locus of control, the reduction in stigma perceptions is strong evidence of the ability to be resilient in difficult circumstances.
The results regarding change in campers' sense of hope, resilience and locus of control are particularly heartening in that these psychological measures are difficult to measure in a short period of time, yet when change is found it is linked to the ability to implement the new knowledge gained. Based on the responses to the open-ended questions by campers, the “Sizanani Effect” is more than program activities and HIV prevention education. It is about powerful connections made by campers that their actions can affect their future and that they can form friendships with caring adults who can be role models for them. Sizanani and the follow-up Youth Clubs give youth something to believe in: themselves and their future. Remember the power of swimming, “people can help others do impossible things”. When one looks to a future without HIV/AIDS, Sizanani is helping make progress toward what for now might feel impossible.
6/3/15 Respectfully submitted by:
Dr. Su-I Hou, Associate Professor, College of Public Health, University of Georgia
Dr. Hou is a leading researcher in HIV/AIDS preventive research (among late adolescents and young adults, ethnic minority groups, and older adults) as well as eHealth communication and promotion (particularly among middle and older age adults).
Dr. Gwynn Powell, Associate Professor, College of Health and Human Development, Clemson University. Dr. Powell is an expert in international youth camp program development and staff training pedagogy.
References
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