One session of TTM-tailored condom use feedback: a pilot study among at-risk women in the Bronx

Abstract

There is an urgent need to implement interventions to curb the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. Consistent condom use is an effective preventive strategy, yet especially among those at highest risk, condom use remains too low. This paper describes changes in condom use and stages of condom use over two–three months time following a single session with an interactive multimedia computer-delivered Transtheoretical Model (TTM)-tailored expert system originally designed for at-risk adolescents. The intervention provided immediate TTM-tailored feedback to diverse urban women based on their stage of condom use and other TTM variables. Previous work found this system was acceptable. These data showed that 89% of women returned for a second session two–three months later, further supporting this system's utility. After just one feedback session, 21% of women not using condoms at baseline started using condoms consistently at follow-up, with a trend for a relationship to baseline stage of condom use. These results support further randomized controlled research on the reach and efficacy of computer-based TTM-tailored and individualized condom use interventions.

Keywords:

• women
• stages of change
• TTM-tailored intervention
• Transtheoretical Model
• condom use
• computer-delivered intervention

Acknowledgements

This research was funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (#RO1 AI3806) and by a Supplement from the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. Expert System Development was funded by the National Cancer Institute (RO1#CA63745) and a Supplement from the Office of Women's Health. We thank all participants and Kerry Evers, Rispy Bandourian, Daphne Brown, Thomas Lee, Debbie Lucy, Carolle Morris, Evelyn Rivera, and Izzie Slaughter for their assistance in conducting this study.