HIV-risk behaviors of sterilized and nonsterilized women in drug-treatment programs--Philadelphia, 1989-1991.

From June 1981 through December 1991, 34% of all reported cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among women in the United States were attributed to heterosexual transmission, and that proportion has been increasing steadily (1). Factors associated with an increased risk for heterosexual transmission include unprotected sexual intercourse (2), multiple sex partners, and the presence of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) (1). Women who have been surgically sterilized and who are sexually active and/or use injecting drugs may need the same prevention services for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other STDs as similar nonsterilized women; however, the specific needs of sterilized women have not been well characterized. This report compares findings from surveys of surgically sterilized and nonsterilized women in drug-treatment programs in Philadelphia on their drug use and HIV/STD-risk behaviors and assesses changes in risk behaviors among these women after a 9-month period during which family-planning counseling and/or gynecologic services were offered.