This community-level intervention involves identifying, enlisting, and training key opinion leaders to encourage safer sexual norms and behaviors within their social networks through risk-reduction conversations.

Announcement: POL Training of Trainers (ToT) is scheduled for January 12-16, 2009 (location & registration information will be announced shortly). Please note: As a pre-requisite, applicants are required to have successfully completed a POL Training of Facilitators (ToF) training within 2 years prior to the ToT.  

Research and Development

Kelly, J.A., St. Lawrence, J.S., Diaz, Y.E., Stevenson, L.Y., Et al. (1991). HIV Risk Behavior Reduction Following Intervention with Key Opinion Leaders of Population: An Experimental Analysis, American Journal of Public Health, 81 (2), 168 – 171.

Kelly, J (2004) "Popular Opinion Leaders and HIV Peer Education: Resolving Discrepant Findings, and Implications for the Implementation of Effective Community Programmes." AIDS Care 16(2): 139-150.

Abstract: A series of community-level trials undertaken in the United States over the past 10 years established the effectiveness of an HIV prevention intervention that systematically identifies, recruits, trains, and engages the popular opinion leaders (POLs) of a population to serve as behaviour change endorsers. Recently, several investigators reported unsuccessful attempts to implement peer education programmes for men who have sex with men in the United Kingdom and raised questions about whether peer-based programmes are effective or feasible. However, POL is a theory-based and very specialized intervention, and the UK peer education programmes did not incorporate many of POL's core or essential elements. Consequently, they were not evaluations of POL. In this article, core elements of the popular opinion leader model are presented; interpretations are made of possible reasons for the discrepant findings of the UK peer education and US POL interventions; and practical issues for applied programme development are discussed.

To view the full article, please visit Taylor & Francis Ltd. at http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com. The full article is available for a fee through Taylor & Francis Ltd. unless you are a subscriber to the publication.

Program Review Panel Information

The CDC requires all CDC-funded agencies using the POL intervention to identify, or establish, and utilize a Program Review Panel and complete Form 0.1113 to document this activity. The intervention researchers and developers are not involved in this activity. This is a CDC requirement for their grantees, and all questions in this regard should be directed to your agency's CDC Project Officer or to the health department funding your agency's implementation of the intervention.

The Program Review Panel guidelines, instructions for completion of Form 0.113, and the form itself are available under the Related Links section of this website.<

CDC Policy on Youth Peer Outreach Workers

CDC funded (directly or indirectly) agencies using youth (either paid or volunteer) in program outreach activities, it is very important that said organizations use caution and judgment in the venues/situations where youth workers are placed. Agencies should give careful consideration to the "age appropriateness" of the activity or venue. Additionally, agencies should comply with all relevant laws and regulations regarding entrance into adult establishments/environments. Laws and curfews should be clearly outlined in required safety protocols developed and implemented by agencies directly and indirectly funded by CDC.

If you have specific questions, please contact your CDC project officer.