Authors: Saleh-Onoya, Dorina¹; Reddy, Priscilla¹; Ruiter, Robert²; Sifunda, Sibusiso¹; Wingood, Gina³; van den Borne, Bart⁴

Source: AIDS Care, Volume 21, Number 7, July 2009 , pp. 817-825(9)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

The prevalence of HIV infection continues to increase among women in South Africa while there are few interventions specifically targeting condom use promotion in this population. We report the results of an experimental pilot study of a health education intervention aimed at enhancing coping skills and consistent condom use among HIV-positive women attending primary health clinics in the Western Cape province of South Africa. One hundred and twenty women were randomised into the intervention condition or a control condition. Both groups completed an interviewer administered questionnaire that included measures of self-esteem, attitude towards condom use, and self-efficacy towards condom use and negotiating condom use, and provided vaginal swab specimen at baseline and three months after the intervention. Tests for intervention effects at three months while controlling for baseline revealed that only self-esteem was significantly higher in the intervention group relative to the control group. No significant differences were found on measures of coping skills and condom use behaviour. Importantly, incidence for Chlamydia Trachomatis, Neisseria Gonorrhea and Trichomona vaginalis during the study period were significantly lower in the intervention group than the control group. These results are strong indications that this intervention could serve as a basis for the development of potentially effective interventions to reduce STI-related sexual risk behaviours among HIV-positive black women in South Africa.

Keywords: condoms; HIV; sexually transmitted infection; women

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540120802537823

Affiliations: 1: Health Promotion Research and Development, Medical Research Council, South Africa 2: Department of Work and Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands 3: Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA 4: Department of Health Education and Promotion, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands

Publication date: 2009-07-01

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