OBJECTIVES: Youth are increasingly at risk for contracting HIV infection, and community-level interventions are needed to reduce behavioral risk. DESIGN: A randomized, controlled, multi-site community-level intervention trial was undertaken with adolescents living in 15 low-income housing developments in five US cities. METHODS:Baseline (n = 1172), short-term follow-up (n = 865), and long-term follow-up (n = 763) risk assessments were conducted among adolescents, ages 12-17, in all 15 housing developments. The developments were randomly assigned in equal numbers to each of three conditions: experimental community-level intervention (five developments); "state-of-the-science" skills training workshops (five developments); and, education-only delayed control intervention (five developments). RESULTS: At long-term follow-up, adolescents living in the housing developments receiving the community-level intervention were more likely to delay onset of first intercourse (85%) than those in the control developments (76%), while those in the workshop developments (78%) did not differ from control condition adolescents. Adolescents in both the community-level intervention (77%) and workshop (76%) developments were more likely to use a condom at last intercourse than those in control (62%) developments. CONCLUSIONS:Community-level interventions that include skills training and engage adolescents in neighborhood-based HIV prevention activities can produce and maintain reductions in sexual risk behavior, including delaying sexual debut and increasing condom use.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: Youth are increasingly at risk for contracting HIV infection, and community-level interventions are needed to reduce behavioral risk. DESIGN: A randomized, controlled, multi-site community-level intervention trial was undertaken with adolescents living in 15 low-income housing developments in five US cities. METHODS: Baseline (n = 1172), short-term follow-up (n = 865), and long-term follow-up (n = 763) risk assessments were conducted among adolescents, ages 12-17, in all 15 housing developments. The developments were randomly assigned in equal numbers to each of three conditions: experimental community-level intervention (five developments); "state-of-the-science" skills training workshops (five developments); and, education-only delayed control intervention (five developments). RESULTS: At long-term follow-up, adolescents living in the housing developments receiving the community-level intervention were more likely to delay onset of first intercourse (85%) than those in the control developments (76%), while those in the workshop developments (78%) did not differ from control condition adolescents. Adolescents in both the community-level intervention (77%) and workshop (76%) developments were more likely to use a condom at last intercourse than those in control (62%) developments. CONCLUSIONS: Community-level interventions that include skills training and engage adolescents in neighborhood-based HIV prevention activities can produce and maintain reductions in sexual risk behavior, including delaying sexual debut and increasing condom use.
Authors: Rosina Cianelli; Lilian Ferrer; Kathleen F Norr; Sarah Miner; Lisette Irarrazabal; Margarita Bernales; Nilda Peragallo; Judith Levy; James L Norr; Beverly McElmurry Journal: Health Care Women Int Date: 2012
Authors: Margaret R Weeks; Jianghong Li; Julia Dickson-Gomez; Mark Convey; Maria Martinez; Kim Radda; Scott Clair Journal: Subst Use Misuse Date: 2009 Impact factor: 2.164
Authors: Laura L Otto-Salaj; Nicole Traxel; Michael J Brondino; Barbara Reed; Cheryl Gore-Felton; Jeffrey A Kelly; L Yvonne Stevenson Journal: J Sex Res Date: 2010-11