Gender and racial/ethnic disparities in the impact of HIV prevention programming in substance abuse treatment.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to evaluate the capacity of HIV prevention programs offered in substance abuse treatment to reduce HIV-related risk behavior for women and men and for Black, Latino, and White groups.


METHODS
Prospective data was collected at intake, discharage, and 12 months post-treatment from 1992 to 1997 for the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study with a sample consisting of 3,142 clients from 59 service delivery units: 972 females, 1,870 males, 1,812 Blacks, 486 Latinos, and 844 Whites.


RESULTS
Study findings show that receipt of HIV prevention programming as part of substance abuse treatment services resulted in reductions in HIV-related risk behavior for the sample overall and for women as well as men. However, although Blacks received more prevention services than Latinos and Whites, the significant positive effect of HIV services on reduced HIVrisk behavior held only for Whites.


CONCLUSIONS
Racial/ethnic disparities exist in the capacity for HIV prevention programming offered as part of substance abuse treatment to reduce HIV-risk behavior. The findings highlight the need for the development of culturally competent service delivery strategies to enhance the impact of these services for all groups.
Cao
Dingcai
D
Department of Health Studies, University of Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Marsh
Jeanne C
JC
Shin
Hee-Choon
HC
D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012737:Sex Factors; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data