Effects on sexual risk behavior and STD rate of brief HIV/STD prevention interventions for African American women in primary care settings

Abstract

Objectives: We tested the efficacy of brief HIV/sexually transmitted disease (STD) risk-reduction interventions for African American women in primary care settings.

Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, 564 African American women recruited at a Newark, NJ, inner-city women's health clinic were assigned to a 20-minute one-on-one HIV/STD behavioral skill-building intervention, 200-minute group HIV/STD behavioral skill-building intervention, 20-minute one-on-one HIV/STD information intervention, 200-minute group HIV/STD information intervention, or 200-minute health intervention control group. Primary outcomes were self-reported sexual behaviors in the previous 3 months; secondary outcome was STD incidence.

Results: At 12-month follow-up, participants in the skill-building interventions reported less unprotected sexual intercourse than did participants in the information interventions (Cohen's d [d]=0.23, P=.02), reported a greater proportion of protected sexual intercourse than did information intervention participants (d=0.21, P=.05) and control participants (d=0.24, P=.03), and were less likely to test positive for an STD than were control participants (d=0.20, P=.03).

Conclusions: This study suggests that brief single-session, one-on-one or group skill-building interventions may reduce HIV/STD risk behaviors and STD morbidity among inner-city African American women in primary care settings.

FIGURE 1—

Progress of participants in brief HIV/STD risk-reduction interventions for African American women: “Sister-to-Sister: The Black Women’s Health Project,” Newark, NJ, 1993–1996. Note. STD = sexually transmitted disease. Women who were not randomized failed to appear at the study site to be randomized and enrolled in the study for unknown reasons.