The purposes of this paper are to describe the association between women's reported quality of life and the perceived safety of her neighborhood. Data will come from Project WAVE, an NIMH-funded study of HIV, violence, and women's health conducted in Baltimore City. We conducted in-depth interviews with 611 women (310 HIV+ and 301 HIV-) recruited from six clinic and community service sites. The Medical Outcomes Study-HIV version was used as a measure of 10 components of quality of life. The interview asked women about perceptions regarding the frequency of eight crimes in their neighborhood: street fights, drug trafficking, burglaries, muggings, rapes, murders, prostitution and gunshots and asked women about satisfaction with the overall safety of their neighborhoods. Women were predominantly low income, of reproductive age, African-American, with at least a HS education. Women who reported a greater frequency of neighborhood crime were more likely to be dissatisfied with their neighborhood safety. Separate linear regression equations were built to measure the association between the neighborhood safety and frequency of neighborhood crime, and pertinent sociodemographic characteristics, to women=s scores on MOS-HIV. Women who reported a greater number of neighborhood crimes or dissatisfaction with neighborhood, were found to have lowered levels of quality of life, after adjusting for women's HIV status, age, and level of income. Further analyses, including results from the qualitative portion of the interviews, will be presented to help give context to the relationship between neighborhood safety, fruequency of crime, HIV status, and quality of life .
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, the participant should be able to identify the relationship between perceived neighborhood safety and frequency of neighborhood crime to women's quality of life; and recognize the importance of using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies in conducting a needs assessment and subsequent interventions
Keywords: Quality of Life, Women's Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.