Medical College of Wisconsin
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Outcomes of a peer HIV prevention program with injection drug and crack users: the Risk Avoidance Partnership. Subst Use Misuse 2009;44(2):253-81

Date

01/15/2009

Pubmed ID

19142824

Pubmed Central ID

PMC2896279

DOI

10.1080/10826080802347677

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-61649090542 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   60 Citations

Abstract

The Risk Avoidance Partnership (RAP) Project conducted in Hartford, Connecticut, tested a program to train active drug injectors and crack cocaine users as "Peer Health Advocates" (PHAs) to deliver a modular HIV, hepatitis, and STI prevention intervention to hard-to-reach drug users in their networks and others in the city. The intervention was designed to diffuse health promotion and risk-reduction interventions by supporting PHAs to model prevention practices and deliver risk- and harm-reduction materials and information. We compared change in behaviors and attitudes between baseline and 6-month follow-up of 112 primarily African-American and Latino PHAs, 223 of their drug-user network contact referrals, and 118 other study recruits (total n = 523). Results indicated significant HIV risk reduction among all study participants, associated with significant health advocacy action conducted by PHAs, and a relationship between exposure to the RAP peer-delivered intervention and risk reduction among all study groups. Findings suggest that active drug users' engagement in peer health advocacy can set in motion a feedback and diffusion process that supports both the continued work of the PHAs and the adoption of harm reduction and mimicking of health advocacy by their peers.

Author List

Weeks MR, Li J, Dickson-Gomez J, Convey M, Martinez M, Radda K, Clair S

Author

Julia Dickson-Gomez PhD Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of Wisconsin




MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Connecticut
Crack Cocaine
Female
HIV Infections
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Organizational Case Studies
Peer Group
Risk Reduction Behavior
Social Support
Substance Abuse, Intravenous
Young Adult