The major goals of the Allegheny County Outreach Intervention Program are to design and execute efficient outreach processes to identify and recruit intravenous drug abusers and the sexual partners of intravenous drug abusers in order to offer and evaluate the effectiveness of the outreach procedures; to offer and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions which are intended to reduce the behaviors among those who are known to contribute to the transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The Outreach/Intervention Program intends to involve at least 1200 persons per year in the demonstration. Drug users and sexual partners will be recruited from the street, via a mobile unit and indigenous outreach workers supported by drug treatment programs from public housing projects and from an ex- offender/TASC project. Participants will be offered the HIV antibody test at no cost with pre- and post-test counseling including instruction in proper use of bleach, condoms, and spermicide. Educational interventions will be presented to all study participants. A small sample (300) of the participants will be involved in the quasi-experimental study wherein half (150) will receive the basic intervention and the other half (150) will receive and enhanced intervention aimed at providing self-empowerment and positive decision-making skills which are presumed to enable positive changes in behaviors which transmit the HIV.
