A community-level HIV prevention intervention for inner-city women: results of the women and infants demonstration projects

Abstract

This study examined the effects of a multisite community-level HIV prevention intervention on women's condom-use behaviors. The theory-based behavioral intervention was implemented with low-income, primarily African American women in 4 urban communities. It was evaluated with data from pre- and postintervention cross-sectional surveys in matched intervention and comparison communities. At baseline, 68% of the women had no intention of using condoms with their main partners and 70% were not using condoms consistently with other partners. After 2 years of intervention activities, increases in rates of talking with main partners about condoms were significantly larger in intervention communities than in comparison communities (P = .03). Intervention communities also had significant increases in the proportion of women who had tried to get their main partners to use condoms (P = .01). The trends for condom use with other partners were similar but nonsignificant. Many women at risk for HIV infection are still not using condoms. Community-level interventions may be an effective way to reach large numbers of women and change their condom-use behaviors, particularly their behaviors with regard to communication with main sex partners.