title: Basic body knowledge in street-recruited, active drug-using women enrolled in a "body empowerment" intervention trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Drug-using women remain at high risk for HIV infection. Female condoms (FC) have proven potential and cervical barriers have promise to reduce HIV risk; their effective use may be boosted by familiarity and confidence about female anatomy. Women with high levels of crack cocaine use were assessed for their knowledge about reproductive anatomy, HIV/STI risk, as well as cancer screening behaviors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women were recruited for a randomized trial of a behavioral intervention via mobile vans in Philadelphia known for high crack use and sex exchange. Knowledge and behavioral data on 198 women were collected via interviewer-administered questionnaire. Women were randomized into control (n=99) and intervention (n=99) arms. Five weekly, small-group, intervention sessions stressed "body empowerment" and teaching use of female-initiated barrier methods. Follow-up body knowledge data were collected at 12 months. Changes in and correlates of body knowledge were analyzed and compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most participants were African-American (66%); their mean age was 39.6 years. At baseline, 44% of the sample erroneously believed women have sex and urinate from the same place; 62% erroneously believed that tampons could get lost in the abdominal cavity. Only 27% knew douching increased STI transmission risk; only 10% knew condoms reduce cervical cancer risk. At follow-up, overall body knowledge improved substantially, across both arms. Race was associated with high body knowledge at baseline but not at follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Knowledge favoring use of women-initiated methods and cervical cancer prevention was very low in this hard-to-reach sample. Body knowledge improved substantially with enhanced voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) as well as the women-focused intervention. Body knowledge education must be targeted and tailored to drug-using women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA. erica.gollub@fiu.edu
authors.forename: Erica L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Gollub
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cyrus-Cameron
authors.forename: Kay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boney
authors.forename: Sumedha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chhatre
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D000715:Anatomy / Q000193:education; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019111:Single-Use Internal Condom / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016578:Crack Cocaine; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015143:Philadelphia; D011209:Power, Psychological; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014930:Women / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D016578:Crack Cocaine