National Minority AIDS Education and Training Center Collaborative Project: BESAFE

Primary Investigator: Dr. Pamela Thurman

The Ethnic Studies Department at Colorado State University is working in collaboration with the National Minority AIDS Education Training Center (NMAETC) based in Washington, D.C.to provide American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Asian Pacific Islanders with the BESAFE curriculum.

NMAETC has developed the BESAFE Cultural Competency Model to help health care providers gain a greater understanding and awareness of how culture may influence their attitudes, behaviors, and policies on health care. CSU Ethnic Studies department, in collaboration with NMAETC, will conduct highly interactive BESAFE workshops to increase cultural competency among providers when diagnosing and treating patients. In addition BESAFE workshops build organizational capacity by developing cultural competency plans. The culturally competent health care provider will develop the needed skills and interpersonal capacity to better respond to a diverse patient population.

ES/CSU has developed a compendium of Best Practices in the area of HIV/AIDS and women as well as an analysis of service and training gaps in ethnic communities. ES/CSU will also assist NMAETC in the development and expansion of the American Indian web based educational program.

Project Faculty:

Pamela Jumper Thurman, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist/Project Director
Pamela.Thurman@ColoState.Edu

Irene Vernon, Ph.D.
Ethnic Studies Chair/Associate Dean/Co-Project Director
Irene.Vernon@ColoState.Edu

Barbara Plested, Ph.D.
Research Scientist/Co-Project Director/Evaluator
Barbara.Plested@ColoState.Edu

Martha Burnside, B.A.
Research Associate/Trainer/Community Liaison
Martha.Burnside@ColoState.Edu

Andrea Israel, B.A.
Research Associate/Trainer/Assistant Evaluator/Graphics Artist
Andrea.Israel@ColoState.Edu