Abstract
HIV prevention for women with substance use disorders is a public health priority. To identify characteristics associated with sexual risk among women in outpatient substance abuse treatment we categorized 809 screened women into three groups: (1) sexually inactive, (2) sexually active with consistent condom use, and (3) sexually active with inconsistent condom use. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine demographics, substance use and treatment characteristics, and regional HIV seroprevalence as predictors of sexual risk behavior. Younger age and attending psychosocial (PS) treatment were significantly associated with being at higher HIV risk. HIV prevention should be tailored to address HIV risk in younger women in PS treatment.
Disclosure statement
Dr. Nunes has received medication for research studies from Alkermes/Cephalon, Duramed Pharmaceuticals, and Reckitt-Benckiser. The other authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.