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Evaluation of a Socio-cultural Intervention to Reduce Unprotected Sex for HIV Among African American/Black Women

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Abstract

African American/Black (Black) women suffer disproportionately to other women from HIV. An HIV prevention intervention combining two previous evidenced-based intervention programs; “Coping with Work and Family Stress” and “Hip Hop 2 Prevent Substance Abuse and HIV”, was evaluated in a diverse sample of Black women (n = 205). Study participants at ten recruitment sites were assigned non-randomly to either the intervention or comparison group and then surveyed at baseline, immediate posttest, and 6-month follow-up. General Estimating Equation modeling revealed that participants in the comparison group reported less unprotected sex at immediate post-test and the intervention group less unprotected sex at 6-month follow-up. Despite the initial drop in reported unprotected sex in the comparison group, this study suggests that an HIV risk reduction intervention tailored to address Black women’s socio-cultural stress and enhance their coping may reduce their unprotected sex at 6-months.

Resumen

El VIH afecta despropocionadamente a las mujeres Afro Americanas/Negras (Black) comparado a otras mujeres. Se evaluó una intervención para la prevención del VIH que combina a dos programas de intervención del VIH basados en evidencia científica previa; “Hacer Frente al Estrés Relacionado con el Trabajo y la Familia” y “Hip Hop para Prevenir el Abuso de Sustancias y del VIH” en una muestra diversa de mujeres negras (n = 205). Se reclutó a los participantes del estudio en 10 centros y se los asignó no aleatoriamente a los grupos de intervención o de comparación y se los encuestó al inicio del estudio,en un postest inmediato y a los 6 meses de seguimiento. Los modelos de Ecuaciones de Estimación Generalizadas mostraron que los participantes del grupo de comparación reportaron menos relaciones sexuales sin protección en el postest inmediato mientras que el grupo de intervención reportó menos relaciones sexuales sin protección a los 6 meses de seguimiento. A pesar de la baja en las relaciones sexuales sin protección, este estudio sugiere que una interveción para reducir el riesgo del VIH que aborde el estrés socio-cultural de las mujeres negras y mejore sus habilidades de afrontamiento pueda reducir las relaciones sexuales sin protección a los 6 meses.

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Notes

  1. When asked “How truthful were you when answering the questions? (1 = Very truthful to 4 = Very untruthful)” the intervention group said they were more truthful than the comparison group at all three study time points (Mean untruthful at baseline = 1.05 ± .32 vs. 1.19 ± .55, p < .000; at post-test = 1.15 ± .54 vs. 1.36 ± .819, p < .001; and at 6-month follow-up = 1.23 ± .72 vs. 1.39 ± .95, p < .05).

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this project was provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) through grant SP 15112. The University of Maryland Prevention Research Center evaluators were engaged in this project after the intervention and data collection was completed, and partial support for the evaluation of this project was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Prevention Research Centers Program through cooperative agreement U48DP001929. This study was conducted solely by the authors, and all opinions expressed in this report are theirs and may not represent those of the funding agencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Behavioral and Community Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, Building #255 Valley Drive, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    B. Boekeloo, T. Geiger, M. Wang & B. Ali

  2. Strategic Community Services, Inc,, Lanham, MD, 20706, USA

    N. Ishman, S. Quinton & G. Allen

  3. Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology & Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA

    D. Snow

Authors
  1. B. Boekeloo
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  2. T. Geiger
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  3. M. Wang
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  4. N. Ishman
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  5. S. Quinton
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  6. G. Allen
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  7. B. Ali
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  8. D. Snow
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Correspondence to B. Boekeloo.

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Boekeloo, B., Geiger, T., Wang, M. et al. Evaluation of a Socio-cultural Intervention to Reduce Unprotected Sex for HIV Among African American/Black Women. AIDS Behav 19, 1752–1762 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1004-3

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