At the 2014 International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia from July 21-25, Grassroot Soccer (GRS) presented findings on our innovative programs and research. Jeff DeCelles, GRS Director of Curriculum & Innovation, gave an oral poster presentation on MCUTS, our research trial evaluating our innovative voluntary medical male circumcision intervention in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The findings, “A sport-based intervention to increase uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision among adult male football players: results from a cluster-randomised trial in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe”, can be found here.
Jeff DeCelles, GRS Director of Curriculum & Innovation, presented at the 2014 International AIDS Conference.
Additionally, DeCelles presented a poster on the SKILLZ Street programmatic assessment, which found female South African participants in the GRS SKILLZ Street program increased knowledge of local rape support services and held more gender-equitable beliefs. SKILLZ Street is a girl-focused GRS program that uses the power of soccer to reduce the spread of HIV, challenge gender norms, and promote better access to reproductive and other health services for female adolescents. Authors on the programmatic assessement include Katie Gannett, Jamison Merrill, Boitumelo Rakosa, Rebecca Hershow, Chris Barkley, and Jeff DeCelles from Grassroot Soccer, as well as Abigail Harrison from Brown University. The findings, “Linking at-risk South African girls to sexual violence and reproductive health services: A mixed-methods assessment of a soccer-based HIV prevention programme and pilot SMS campaign”, can be found here.