Latino recruitment and retention strategies: community-based HIV prevention.

Latinos are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. The need for community-based AIDS prevention programs that are culture specific is well recognized. Lay Health Advisor (LHA) interventions are a culturally appropriate way to provide information about HIV/AIDS to community members. LHA programs use natural helpers in the community to disseminate information through their social networks. Natural helpers are community members who informally provide support to their neighbors and to whom others naturally turn for advice. This paper reports the recruitment and retention experiences of a Lay Health Advisor Program: Protegiendo Nuestra Familia (Protecting Our Family) for prevention of HIV/AIDS among Latinos in North Carolina.