title: An Integrated HIV Risk Reduction Intervention for Women with a History of Intimate Partner Violence: Pilot Test Results.
abstract: There are few HIV risk reduction interventions to meet the unique needs of women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV). This pilot study tested the feasibility, safety, and preliminary effects of an integrated IPV-sexual risk reduction intervention for abused women. Fifty-five women were randomized to the supporting positive and healthy relationships (SUPPORT) intervention (n = 27) or to a control group (n = 28). Assessments were conducted pre- and post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up. Post-intervention, SUPPORT participants showed a significant decrease in frequency of unprotected sex and an increase in safer sex communications with steady and other sexual partners. Compared to the control group, SUPPORT participants reported a higher number of safer sex conversations with their steady partner at the 3-month follow-up, and fewer episodes of IPV at both assessments in comparison to baseline. They showed improvements in sexual relationship power at both follow-ups and in several hypothesized antecedents of HIV-risk behavior. These encouraging preliminary findings suggest the need for a larger clinical trial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Science, 1142 School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA. mmittal@umd.edu.
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mittal
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thevenet-Morrison
authors.affiliation: President, Linking Human Systems, LLC, Boulder, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Landau
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Xueya
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Global Institute of Public Health, New York University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Lindsey
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.affiliation: Alternatives for Battered Women, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chaize
authors.affiliation: Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.|Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Carey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D021841:Safe Sex / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners; D013179:Spouse Abuse; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: HIV; Intervention; Intimate partner violence; Sexual risk behaviors; Women