HIV risk reduction in the National Institute on Drug Abuse Cocaine Collaborative Treatment Study

Abstract

HIV risk was evaluated among 487 cocaine-dependent patients recruited from five treatment programs in a trial that examined the efficacy of four outpatient-based psychosocial treatments. Treatments were offered two to three times per week for 6 months and consisted of group drug counseling (GDC) or group counseling plus individual drug counseling (IDC), cognitive therapy (CT), or supportive-expressive therapy (SE). The average patient had used cocaine for 7 years, with 10 days of use in the last month. Crack smoking was the main route in 79%, and HIV risk was mainly due to multiple partners and unprotected sex. Treatment was associated with a decrease in cocaine use from an average of 10 days per month at baseline to 1 day per month at 6 months. Reduction in cocaine use was associated with an average 40% decrease in HIV risk across all treatment, gender, and ethnic groups, mainly as a result of fewer sexual partners and less unprotected sex. The combination of IDC and GDC was associated with an equal or even greater reduction in HIV risk than the other treatment conditions and thus shows promise as an effective HIV prevention strategy, at least for some patients.