LOWERING HIV RISK AMONG ETHNIC MINORITY DRUG USERS: COMPARING CULTURALLY TARGETED INTERVENTION TO A STANDARD INTERVENTION

• Published in: The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse Vol. 27; no. 3; pp. 501 - 524
• Main Authors: Dushay, Robert A., Singer, Merrill, Weeks, Margaret R., Rohena, Lucy, Gruber, Richard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Colchester Informa UK Ltd 01.01.2001; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - prevention & control; Addictive behaviors; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; African Americans - psychology; AIDS; Analysis of Variance; Behavior modification; Biological and medical sciences; Comparative analysis; Connecticut; Cultural Characteristics; Cultural Sensitivity; Culturally competent interventions; disease control; Drug Abuse; Drug addiction; Drug treatment; Female; Health Education; Hispanic Americans - psychology; HIV risk; Human immunodeficiency virus; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Injection drug use; Intervention; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; Minority Groups - psychology; Patient Dropouts - psychology; Prevention; Preventive medicine; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Puerto Rican Americans; Puerto Rico; Risk; Risk-Taking; Self Concept; Self Efficacy; Substance abuse treatment; Substance Abuse, Intravenous - psychology; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; United States; North America; America; Puerto Rico; Performance evaluation; Intravenous administration; Risk; Prevention; Biomedical information; Minority; Cultural aspect; Transmission from man to man; Public health; Human; Immunopathology; Sanitary program; Drug addiction; Ethnic origin; Statistical analysis; Illicit drug; Retroviridae; AIDS; Immune deficiency; Lentivirus; Infection; Virus; Concomitant disease; Viral disease; Risk factor; Human immunodeficiency virus; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0095-2990; 1097-9891
• DOI: 10.1081/ADA-100104515

To test the efficacy of culturally targeted acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention programs on ethnic minority street drug users, 669 African-American and Puerto Rican drug users were assigned to receive either the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) standard intervention or a culturally competent enhanced intervention in a quasi-experimental study. The standard intervention was a two-session educational program, while both the African-American and Puerto Rican enhanced interventions provided additional AIDS information in a culturally appropriate fashion. Although human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviors, as measured by Bell's risk indices, decreased, there were no meaningful significant differences between interventions. However, participants who went into drug treatment programs showed greater reduction in HIV risk behavior. Cultural interventions may provide better outcome if they concentrate on getting participants into drug treatment.