HIV Prevention Programming for Older African American Women: The Impact of a Faith-Based and Behavioral Science Partnership on Depressive Symptoms.

Abstract

The current study sought to test the effect of an HIV prevention intervention on depressive symptoms in a sample of older African American women. A pretest-posttest randomized control group design was conducted in a mega-church in Los Angeles with a sample of 62 older African American women, aged ≥50 years, 29 of whom were randomly assigned to the experimental condition and 33 to the comparison/control condition. A measure of psychological wellbeing (CES-D) was utilized to test the effect of the four-session group intervention vs the one-session informational group intervention on change in depressive symptoms from pretest to posttest. Demographic characteristics included: measures of age in years; relationship and employment statuses (coded 1 for yes, 0 for no); and educational attainment. Participation in the study was associated with a significant improvement in the women's psychological wellbeing from baseline to time 2; ie, decreased depressive symptoms. This change was greater for women in the four-session experimental group than for those in the one-session comparison group, due in part to a marginally significant interaction between time and experimental conditions. This study demonstrates the utility of faith-based/behavioral-scientist partnerships in HIV programming. Findings contribute to the evidence on interventions that might reduce depressive symptoms and HIV risk among older African American women.