Efficacy of a woman-focused intervention to reduce HIV risk and increase self-sufficiency among African American crack abusers.
OBJECTIVE
This study compares 3- and 6-month outcomes of a woman-focused HIV intervention for crack abusers, a revised National Institute on Drug Abuse standard intervention, and a control group.


METHODS
Out-of-drug-treatment African American women (n = 620) who use crack participated in a randomized field experiment. Risk behavior, employment, and housing status were assessed with linear and logistic regression.


RESULTS
All groups significantly reduced crack use and high-risk sex at each follow-up, but only woman-focused intervention participants consistently improved employment and housing status. Compared with control subjects at 6 months, woman-focused intervention participants were least likely to engage in unprotected sex; revised standard intervention women reported greatest reductions in crack use.


CONCLUSIONS
A woman-focused intervention can successfully reduce risk and facilitate employment and housing and may effectively reduce the frequency of unprotected sex in the longer term.
Wechsberg
Wendee M
WM
RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194, USA. wmw@rti.org
Lam
Wendy K K
WK
Zule
William A
WA
Bobashev
Georgiy
G
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000193:education / Q000208:ethnology; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D016578:Crack Cocaine; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D016015:Logistic Models; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012309:Risk-Taking; D021841:Safe Sex / Q000208:ethnology; D012657:Self-Help Groups / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014930:Women / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D016387:Women's Health / Q000208:ethnology
D016578:Crack Cocaine