The Urban Life Network, Lifenet, is an approach to meeting youth health needs, particularly reproductive health, by building skills and strengthening relationships. The network, based at the Chiang Mai University Faculty of Nursing, was established to respond to increased morbidity of Thai adolescents — mostly due to HIV/AIDS and motorcycle accidents — linked to the migration of young people seeking educational and work opportunities in urban areas like Chiang Mai. Several research studies showed that as youth who come to the city are freed from traditional mechanisms of control over sexual behavior and have opportunities to expand friendships and relationships with other young people, exposure to HIV, unwanted pregnancies and other reproductive health problems has increased. A study of these social networks found that 1) young people’s risk behaviors occur in clusters of small groups of friends; 2) friendship groups significantly influence risk behaviors; and 3) "sexual bridging" occurs between categories of sexual identities, ethnic, occupational and age groups. While there were clear links between young people’s new-found freedom, entertainment, alcohol and drug consumption with unsafe sex and accidents, we needed to understand what kind of a project intervention could impact the risks youth were taking. The resulting strategy has been implemented to mobilize local resources, and youth themselves, to redefine cultural values within their peer groups, leading to more positive and protective behaviors.
Lifenet’s strategy is threefold. First, we aim to build networks of support among young people at risk so that peers can redefine their sub-cultures to promote healthy behaviors instead of risky behaviors. Second, we encourage linkages between youth programs and individuals with existing networks of organizations, based on the understanding that networks help young people feel connected in ways that support them to protect themselves. Finally, we strive to overcome negative attitudes about youth by engaging local leaders and decision-makers, such as teachers from the Teachers’ Training College and staff of the local health promotion and disease prevention offices, in the program. Mobilizing decision-makers ensures that youth will be treated with respect, that they receive reinforcing messages in school, and that the program receives the support it needs to work in the community.
Lifenet reaches young people who frequent entertainment establishments and who work as migrant construction workers. Because of our understanding of how social networks impact risk-taking behavior, peer-based education has been used to target behaviors in the contexts in which they occur. In the beginning of the project, Lifenet members reached out to entertainment establishments where youth spend time, and learned of the intense need for reproductive health information, family and adolescent counseling, and a safe place to gather among youth who frequented these establishments. The outreach team encountered problems of family abuse, neglect, low self-esteem, gender role confusion and emotional problems among the young people they were reaching.
After gaining a better understanding of the sub-cultures of youth we planned to reach, outreach workers built relationships with the management of discos, bars and other nightspots and started conducting entertainment and educational activities which included "disk jockeys" and key staff of these establishments. The outreach team also built on the research which initially shaped the program’s strategy, by mapping networks of youth the team came in contact with. Social network analytic software was used to illustrate the relationships among youth in a given setting. This process allowed Lifenet to identify 30 "key leaders," that is, youth who were at high-risk and who were influencing their friends to take risks. These youth leaders were then recruited and trained with life skills, such as problem-solving, reasoning and communication skills. They were also trained in network mobilization strategies so that they could effectively build support systems among their peers. The youth decided to name their group, Cycle of Life, and they have developed a newsletter to address youth concerns such as relationship advice, health information and future aspirations. Lifenet has since set up a drop-in center where Cycle of Life members have access to a computer and other supplies to support their activities. A mobile phone hotline carried by one of the outreach workers provides counseling and support and assistance in emergencies.
By gathering to discuss their problems, Cycle of Life members and their peers have formed a support network within which they can discuss their problems, and they have come to realize that they are not "bad kids" for going to entertainment establishments. Now they are involved in social action to promote "safe entertainment" for young people. Cycle of Life is now expanding its membership by recruiting friends from among other night-spot patrons. Within the first year of the project, the Cycle of Life network expanded to include 175 youth.
To complement the peer program, Lifenet also engaged Teachers’ College teachers in a participatory learning process which introduced them to the perspectives and needs of young people and people with HIV/AIDS. The process resulted in a shared commitment by a small group of teachers to develop a sexuality education curriculum based on students’ experiences and needs. The teachers then gained support among their network of teachers, and among administrators. In its second year, the curriculum is being refined and expanded to two additional provinces.
Due to the success of the program, Lifenet is encouraging other sectors currently serving youth to use the life skills training and network mobilization strategies that have proved successful for promoting healthy behaviors among youth. Links to health promotion centers, the department of social welfare, juvenile courts, secondary and tertiary educational institutions, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations have been established. Youth in Cycle of Life are helping to adapt reproductive health education materials into formats that are engaging and entertaining to youth, using language and terminology youth understand.
Program Contact:
Dr. Warunee Fongkaew, Ms. Ratchanee Srionsri
Urban Life Network Project
Faculty of Nursing
Chiang Mai University
Chiang Mai, Thailand 50200
Tel: 66-53-946073
Fax: 66-53-894174
Lifenet is supported by the Ford Foundation.
