Sustained Safe Behavior in High-Risk Women

描述（由申请人提供）：这项为期4年的前瞻性纵向研究旨在探索促进或阻碍初次和持续使用女用避孕套预防艾滋病毒/性传播感染的因素。这项研究的对象是康涅狄格州哈特福德的高风险城市妇女，她们主要是非洲裔美国人和波多黎各人，包括吸毒者、性工作者、有多个性伴侣或吸毒性伴侣的非吸毒妇女以及少数高风险男子。研究的目的是：1）在减少与缺乏信息和获取途径有关的初始障碍后，研究影响高危妇女及其男性性伴侣首次和持续使用女用避孕套预防艾滋病毒/性传播感染的因素;以及2）研究与高危妇女和男子的个人网络和性关系因素有关的影响女用避孕套采用的条件。这项研究包括两个主要组成部分，这两个组成部分结合在一起，可以采用定性和定量方法来评估目标人群持续使用女用避孕套的情况。一个组成部分是对500名高危妇女进行定量队列研究，这些妇女将参加一项前瞻性纵向调查，测量人口统计学、流行病学（艾滋病毒风险和预防）、心理社会（态度、个人能动性）、性关系（伴侣、性别）和社会网络/同伴影响因素，在3个时间点（入院、1个月和10个月）进行。这项队列研究旨在评估不同类型性伴侣首次使用女用避孕套的预测因素以及与持续使用有关的因素。第二部分是定性和定量的合作伙伴的女用避孕套试验与75对夫妇（高风险女性及其男性主要、临时和/或付费伴侣），他们一起使用女用避孕套，进行一次或两次连续2周的试验，以评估性关系、性别动态和影响其使用女用避孕套的其他因素，试验后和10个月的随访访谈，以评估她们在一段时间内与这一伴侣和其他伴侣持续使用女用避孕套的情况。定性和定量数据将被用来测试假设的影响因素持续使用女用避孕套，并评估的过程和动态的女用避孕套的采用在研究人群。同时实施两个研究组成部分和抽样设计，将创建两个组成部分的等效样本支持定性和定量数据的综合分析，以提高我们对项目结果的解释。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This 4-year prospective, longitudinal study is designed to explore factors that enhance or impede the initial and sustained use of the female condom for HIV/STI prevention. The study targets high-risk urban women in Hartford, CT, who are primarily African American and Puerto Rican, including drug users, sex workers, non-drug using women with multiple or drug-using sex partners, as well as a small number of high-risk men. The study aims are: 1) to examine factors affecting initial and sustained use of the female condom for HIV/STI prevention among high-risk women and their male sex partners after reducing initial barriers associated with lack of information and accessibility; and 2) to examine conditions affecting female condom adoption associated with personal network and sexual relationship factors of high-risk women and men overtime. The study includes two primary components that together allow the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods to assess sustained female condom use in the target population. One component is a quantitative cohort study of 500 high-risk women who will participate in a prospective, longitudinal survey measuring demographic, epidemiological (HIV risk and prevention), psycho-social (attitudinal, personal agency), sexual relationship (partner, gender), and social network/peer influence factors conducted at 3 time points (intake, 1-month and 10-months). The cohort study is designed to assess predictors of initial female condom use with different types of sex partners and factors associated with its sustained use. The second component is a qualitative and quantitative partners' female condom trial with 75 couples (high-risk women and their male primary, casual, and/or paying partners), in which they use the female condom together for one or two consecutive 2-week trials to assess sexual relationship, gender dynamic, and other factors affecting their use of female condoms, with post-trial and 10-month follow-up interviews to assess their sustained use of the female condom with this and other partners over time. Qualitative and quantitative data will be used to test hypotheses regarding factors affecting sustained female condom use and to assess the process and dynamics of female:, condom adoption in the study population. Concurrent implementation of the two study components and a sampling design that will create equivalent samples in both components support the integrated analysis of qualitative and quantitative data to enhance our interpretation of project findings.