Young Women Living with HIV: Outcomes from a Targeted Secondary Prevention Empowerment Pilot Trial.

Abstract

Women account for 1 in 5 new HIV infections in the US, make up 24% of people living with HIV, and represent a quarter of AIDS diagnoses. Despite the need for continued prevention among young women living with HIV, there is very little in the literature on how best to reduce sexual risk and increase the health and well-being of young women living with HIV. This article explores the primary and secondary outcomes of a randomized controlled pilot trial of an intervention entitled Young Women Taking Charge and Growing Stronger. This behavioral intervention aimed to decrease sexual risk and empower young women living with HIV by enhancing young women's knowledge and skills pertaining to HIV risk reduction as well as to the factors that increase women's vulnerability, such as sexual inequality, gender, and power imbalances. Findings from this trial demonstrate that group-based behavioral interventions for young women living with HIV have promise to reduce the total number of sexual partners and reduce unprotected vaginal and anal intercourse. However, more work is needed to understand how best to address the challenges young women face in their day to day lives that impact their sexual risk as well as their overall health and access to care and treatment.