 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Quinn M. Gentry, PhD, MBA, The MayaTech Corporation, 280 Highland Lake Trace, Atlanta, GA 30324, 404-494-9370, quinngp@aol.com
Background: HIV prevention intervention literature largely ignores black feminist theory, thereby ignoring black women’s ways of thinking and reacting to public health crises in their everyday lives. Moreover, there remains a lack of consensus among researchers about “culturally relevant” techniques for HIV prevention programs. Black women have been studied as members of “other” groups, but rarely researched as a heterogeneous group with varying risks and needs. Methods: This study is based upon two years of ethnographic fieldwork and analyzes the living conditions of 45 poor African American women at risk for HIV infection. A black feminist perspective guides the analytical framework as a way to extend knowledge about the social conditions, social interactions, and meaning of high-risk behavior in the lives of African American women. Women were eligible for the qualitative evaluation after completing a six-month quantitative follow-up interview as key component of the risk reduction program. Participants were located with the help of outreach workers from April 2000 to April 2001. The research question that guided this study is how do living conditions impact poor African American women’s willingness (individual factors) and ability (structural factors) to reduce their risk for HIV infection? Results: The social typology that emerged from the constant comparison method common in grounded theory centers on “street” and “house” women. Street women are sub-typed as the absolute homeless; the rooming housed; and the hustling homeless. House women are sub-typed as the family housed; the heads of household; and the steady-partner housed. Each of these types of living arrangements place women at risk in different ways, suggesting that a group of high risk women often thought to be homogeneous actually have unique “within group” needs that must be addressed in prevention intervention research. Conclusions: The women’s experiences in coping with risky behavior are contextualized in relation to their living conditions. Six different HIV prevention programs emerged for African American women based on their living arrangements. In addition, implications for how the black family, church, and community can impact behavioral changes in the lives of African American women are discussed.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Drug Use, HIV Interventions
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.