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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Dana K. McCurdy, Department of Public Health Sciences & Epidemiology, University of Hawaii, 1960 East West Road, C105, Honolulu, HI 96822, 808-956-3745, dmccurdy@hawaii.edu

Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and AIDS have consistently been the top 3 notifiable infectious diseases for the past decade. In women, rates of HIV are slowly declining, but rates of gonorrhea and Chlamydia are increasing. Incidence rates of Chlamydia and HIV are significantly higher in Black, Hispanic, and Native American women than in other racial/ethnic groups. A literature review was conducted to assess the long-term efficacy of previous sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention interventions in women of color. The PubMed database was searched for US studies, years 1995 to 2006, including women of color of all ages, in which outcomes included consistent condom use or decreased STI rates. Interventions were divided into 7 topical areas: condom skills, knowledge-based, gender sensitive, healthy relationships, culturally sensitive, abstinence-based, or a combination of 3 or more topics. While the majority of interventions utilized a knowledge-based approach to STI prevention, these interventions showed the least success. Abstinence-only and condom skills-only approaches also showed little success. The interventions with consistent long-term success involved a combination of teaching condom skills, using a gender- and culture-sensitive approach, and increasing knowledge about STIs and contraceptives. The success of programs which acknowledge culture and gender role influences on reproductive health suggests that social forces may be contributing to the increases in STIs among women, and are therefore important to address in addition to teaching skills and knowledge. An expansion of these innovative approaches is needed in order to see significant decreases in incidence rates of STIs.

Learning Objectives: