Sexual activity in HIV-positive African American crack cocaine smokers

Abstract

The AIDS epidemic in the United States continues to disproportionately affect minorities of color, especially African Americans. The purpose of this study was to explore the sexual behaviors of a sample of African American HIV positive crack smokers aware of their serostatus. Participants (100 men, 37 women) were included in this study based on the following criteria: a minimum age of 18 years, HIV positive serostatus, treatment with HIV antiretroviral medications for a minimum of 3 months prior to interview, crack cocaine use at least once in the 7 days prior to being interviewed, willingness to provide a urine sample to confirm recent drug use, and vaginal or anal sex at least once in the past 7 days. The questionnaire was a compilation of other reliable surveys and was designed to collect sociodemographic data, drug use, sexual behavior, condom use intentions and motivators, STD and HIV infection history, HIV medications, and adherence requirements. Participants reported having 1,266 different partners in the 30 days prior to the interview and had traded sex for money or drugs with 68%. A total of 79 participants had multiple partners and accounted for 1,247 partnerships. Rates of consistent condom use across partnerships were low, indicating that more interventions in this at-risk population are needed.