Enhancing self-efficacy using a HIV and substance use prevention program for African American women

Background: African American women living in Dayton, Ohio's public housing neighborhoods are an underserved population. These women tend to be primary caregivers, and often postpone their own health needs, including HIV testing and substance use disorder (SUD) services. The need for increased focus on HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in this population is illustrated by the growing prevalence of HIV infection in African American women. In response to this need, we developed Sisterline, a prevention program designed to improve access to SUD services and HIV testing for adult African American women with high SUD and HIV risk living in Dayton, OH. Methods: Women enrolled in the program were offered strength-based case management to address SUD risks and the Sisters Informing Sisters about Topics on AIDS (SISTA) intervention focused on ethnic and gender pride, HIV education, and skills training to reduce risky sexual behaviors and improve decision making. Outcome measures including alcohol and drug use, HIV knowledge, and self-advocacy in sexual situations, were obtained from self-reported data at baseline and 6 month follow-up. Results: Matched baseline and follow-up data was available for 233 participants. Paired-samples t-tests revealed that there were significant decreases in alcohol and drug use from baseline to follow-up (p's < 0.01). Furthermore, at follow-up, enrollees were significantly more knowledgeable in HIV awareness (p's <0.05) and report increased sexual self-efficacy (p's < 0.01) compared to baseline. Conclusions: As evidenced by significant changes from baseline to follow-up, the preventative strategies utilized by our program are positively affecting the behavior of our participants.