Computer-Based HIV/STD Prevention For High-Risk Women

描述(申请人提供)：妇女是美国艾滋病毒感染人数增长最快的人群之一，在预防疾病传播方面面临着独特的挑战。与男性不同，异性传播占女性所有新增艾滋病毒病例的75%以上。主要的男性伴侣是主要的感染源。此外，感染另一种性传播疾病时，感染艾滋病毒的风险会增加两到五倍。事实上，三分之二的新STD感染发生在女性身上。最后，防止艾滋病毒传播的主要方法是正确和始终如一地使用男性乳胶或聚亚安酯避孕套。对于女性来说，这是一个巨大的挑战，因为男性伴侣对避孕套的抵触是异性关系中的一个重要障碍。拟议的第二阶段项目将包括扩展和完成在第一阶段开发的Safe Sistah原型计划，这将包括增强现有的多媒体资产，提供更多亲自定制该计划的机会，并以西班牙语和英语提供该计划。整个计划将以三个核心目标为指导。首先，向用户传授针对性别的预防技能。第二，强调除艾滋病毒外，预防和治疗性病的重要性。最后，增强赋权意识和性别认同感。安全Sistah计划的有效性将在严格的现场测试中得到检验。现场测试将随机分配300名妇女接受安全Sistah计划或接受正常情况下的治疗，在计划体验之前、3个月和6个月后对参与者进行评估。主要的结果衡量标准将是自我报告的持续使用避孕套，因为这已被证明在减少性传播艾滋病毒方面有效。此外，还将评估替代降低风险策略的使用、降低风险行为的中介以及STD症状的存在。如果基于网络的计划的重大影响得到证明，将对其进行修订，并准备向性病诊所推销。该项目旨在为在公共资助的性病诊所就诊的与男性发生性行为的女性开发一个基于网络的艾滋病毒/性传播疾病预防计划。对于诊所来说，这将使他们能够向客户提供经验性验证的艾滋病毒/性传播疾病预防干预措施，而不会对已经不堪重负的工作人员产生额外的需求。对于女性来说，这项计划中包含的技能将帮助她们减少危险行为，并最终防止艾滋病毒/性传播疾病的传播。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Women are one of the fastest growing populations being infected with HIV in the United States and face unique challenges when it comes to preventing the spread of the disease. Unlike men, heterosexual transmission accounts for over 75% of all new HIV cases in women. Primary male partners are the chief source of infection. Moreover, the risk of becoming infected with HIV is increased two to five times when infected with another STD. Indeed, two-thirds of new STD infections occur in women. Finally, the primary method to prevent the spread of HIV is the correct and consistent use of the male latex or polyurethane condom. For women this presents a significant challenge because male partner resistance to condoms is an important barrier in heterosexual relationships. The proposed Phase II project will involve expansion and completion of the Safe Sistah prototype program developed during Phase I. This will include enhancing the existing multimedia assets, providing more opportunities to personally tailor the program, and offering it in both Spanish and English. The full program will be guided by three core goals. First, teach users gender-specific prevention skills. Second, emphasize the importance of preventing and treating STDs besides HIV. Finally, enhance feelings of empowerment and gender identity. The effectiveness of the Safe Sistah program will be examined in a rigorous field test. The field test will involve randomly assigning 300 women to receive either the Safe Sistah program or to a treatment as usual condition, assessing participants before, 3-months, and 6-months after their program experience. The primary outcome measure will be self-reported consistent condom use as this has been shown to be effective in reducing sexually transmitted HIV. In addition, the use of alternative risk reducing strategies, mediators of risk reducing behavior, and the presence of STD symptoms will also be assessed. If significant impact of the web-based program is demonstrated, it will be revised and prepared for marketing to STD clinics. This project aims to develop a web-based HIV/STD prevention program for women who have sex with men attending publicly-funded STD clinics. For clinics, this will allow them to provide an empirically validated HIV/STD prevention intervention to their clients without creating additional demands on their already overburdened staff. For women, the skills contained in this program will help them reduce risk behaviors and, ultimately, prevent the spread of HIV/STDs.