African-American HIV serodiscordant couples studied in culturally directed intervention
TUESDAY, July 13 (HealthDay News) -- A culturally congruent intervention may reduce sexual risk behaviors in African-American couples who are HIV serodiscordant, according to research published online July 12 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Nabila El-Bassel, of the Columbia University School of Social Work in New York City, and colleagues analyzed data from 535 African-American serodiscordant heterosexual couples. The couples were randomized to participate in the Eban HIV/sexually transmitted disease (STD) risk-reduction intervention, including eight weekly sessions delivered by African-American facilitators, or a comparison health promotion intervention.
The researchers found that the proportion of condom-protected acts of intercourse was larger in the risk-reduction intervention group (risk ratio, 1.24). The percentage of couples using condoms consistently was also higher in the intervention group (63 versus 48 percent). Three seroconversions occurred in the comparison group by 12-month follow-up and two in the risk-reduction group.
"In conclusion, to our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the efficacy of an HIV/STD intervention in reducing sexual risk behavior among African-American HIV serodiscordant couples. It shows that couples at high risk of transmitting HIV can be recruited for such interventions, are willing to attend multiple intervention sessions, and can be retained for follow-up efficacy assessments. The findings draw attention to an effective intervention strategy that may be scaled up to curb the magnitude and continued spread of HIV and other STDs," the authors write.
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