Impact of drug treatment on subsequent sexual risk behavior in a multisite cohort of drug-using women: A report from the Women's Interagency HIV Study

Latka, Mary H.; Wilson, Tracey E.; Cook, Judith A.; Bacon, Melanie C.; Richardson, Jean L.; Sohler, Nancy; Cohen, Mardge H.; Greenblatt, Ruth M.; Andreopoulis, Evie; Vlahov, David

doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2005.08.008

« Previous Next »Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Volume 29, Issue 4 , Pages 329-337, December 2005

Impact of drug treatment on subsequent sexual risk behavior in a multisite cohort of drug-using women:

A report from the Women's Interagency HIV Study

Mary H. Latka, Ph.D.
- Center for Urban Epidemiological Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Corresponding author. Center for Urban Epidemiological Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA. Tel.: +1 212 822 7284; fax: +1 212 822 6220
Tracey E. Wilson, Ph.D.
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Judith A. Cook, Ph.D.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Melanie C. Bacon, R.N., M.P.H.
- Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
Jean L. Richardson, Dr.P.H.
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Nancy Sohler, Ph.D., M.P.H.
- Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
Mardge H. Cohen, M.D.
- Cook County Hospital, Chicago, IL, USA
Ruth M. Greenblatt, M.D.
- Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology, San Francisco School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
Evie Andreopoulis, M.A.
- Center for Urban Epidemiological Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
David Vlahov, Ph.D.
- Center for Urban Epidemiological Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

Received 9 November 2004; received in revised form 10 July 2005; accepted 23 August 2005.

Abstract

Background

The evidence that drug treatment programs are associated with changes in sexual behavior and, thus, have prevention benefits beyond addiction is inconclusive. We examined whether entry into drug treatment was associated with subsequent alterations in sexual behavior among a group of drug-using women.

Methods

Data were collected semiannually via structured interviews over 8 years. Generalized estimating equations evaluated the relationship between self-reported drug treatment at each visit and sexual abstinence and consistent condom use in the subsequent 6-month period.

Results

In this sample (N = 1,658; mean age, 37.3 years; 57.5% African American; 80.3% HIV positive; 49.6% crack/cocaine users), 40% reported being in a variety of drug treatment programs. Those undergoing drug treatment (vs. those not) were less likely to become sexually active (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76–0.91); this association was unchanged when the frequency of attendance and number of different drug treatment programs were evaluated. Drug treatment was not associated with subsequent consistent condom, regardless of frequency of attendance, but involvement in at least three treatment programs was (AOR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.00–1.97).

Conclusions

Additional efforts are needed to integrate effective sexual risk reduction programs into drug treatment settings; expanding access to different types of drug treatment modalities may be indicated.

Keywords: Human immunodeficiency virus, Substance use, Drug abuse treatment, Sexual activity, Condom use, Abstinence, Women