Woman to Woman (W2W): Adapting an HIV risk reduction intervention for older women

Abstract

Woman to Woman (W2W) is a novel adaptation of the Sisters Informing Sisters about Topics on AIDS (SISTA) HIV prevention program. This article describes the process of adapting and piloting W2W based on recommendations from existing HIV prevention research. Six older women, all of whom had histories of homelessness and the majority of whom identified as African American, enrolled in the study, which piloted the adapted intervention and materials, evaluated the acceptability of the program, and assessed the measures related to the intervention. Participants described satisfaction with the program and had high rates of attendance; observations regarding the measures suggest the need to further develop assessments of HIV knowledge, condom use self-efficacy, and risk behaviors in this context.

Keywords: Best practices; HIV; intervention; older women; prevention.