The overall long-term onjective of this 3-year community based study is to reduce high risk behaviors that lead to the development of AIDS in African American women in the drug user community through AIDS prevention and education strategies using empowering techniques. Acquisition of those strategies and skills will promote personal control as well as supplement ability to communicate with others and, ultimately, potential for positive impact on other members of the community. The project will promote attitudes, behaviors, and goals that emphasize development of self esteem, consideration of alternatives and options, and behaviors that contribute toward personal growth and development. The following specific aims are addressed: 1) to promote changes in behaviors (safer sex practices and drug using behaviors) that are consistent with strategies for AIDS prevention in the African American drug-using community, using peer counseling and leadership training, 2) to promote recognition and adoption of alternative behaviors that are consistent with existing beliefs and values, 3) to educate participants in methadone treatment programs to be role models, peer counselors, and leaders by teaching them to educate others regarding AIDS and prevention of the spread of AIDS, and 4) to stimulate assumption of catalytic roles by the subjects for the purpose of reducing risk behaviors associated with AIDS. This is an experimental design in which high risk sexual and drug behavior, self esteem and promotion of AIDS prevention of known drug users will be measured before and lafter treatment, and at four months and seven months post treatment. The questionnaires I.include: Demographic Questionnaire, Rosenberg's ten-item Guttman scale to measure Igeneral social psychological attitudes toward the self, a research developed Sexual and Drug Behaviors Questionnaire, and The Promotion of AIDS Prevention Checklist. The study will include an 8-week peer counseling and leadership training program (PCLT) for African American women in two methadone maintenance programs. Volunteers will be randomly assigned into treatment and control groups. A sample size of 200 participants is projected. The primary analytic approach to the data will be repeated mea:sures ANCOVA to compare differences between groups.
| Harris, R M; Kavanagh, K H (1995) Perception of AIDS risk and high-risk behaviors in African-American methadone-dependent women. AIDS Educ Prev 7:415-28 |
