Disseminating an intervention for women with histories of childhood sexual abuse

Introduction: An evidence-based sexual-risk reduction intervention integrating an HIV and trauma curriculum was disseminated to 10 HIV clinics/agencies with the purpose of: 1) training non-clinical staff on the effects of sexual trauma and HIV; 2) assisting clinics/agencies in implementing integrated this curriculum into their services; and 3) evaluating the intervention's efficacy on three psychological outcome variables, HIV knowledge, and condom use among clinic/agency clients.

Methods: Dissemination occurred in three phases: needs-assessments, staff training, and implementation. Agency visitations and bi-weekly facilitator meetings were conducted.

Results: Staff reported positive feedback, emphasizing the need for such training and intervention. Seventy-four African American and Latina HIV+ women with histories of child abuse, with mean age of 42 attended 12 weekly group sessions. Paired t-tests of pre- and post-surveys were conducted with significant improvements obtained for PTSD symptoms, CES-D (depression) symptoms, coping, and HIV knowledge.

Discussion: Findings underscore the importance of community-level interventions in improving the psychological health of women with histories of child sexual abuse and our ability to effectively disseminate the intervention to community-based organizations.