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An Integrated HIV Risk Reduction Intervention for Women with a History of Intimate Partner Violence: Pilot Test Results

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Abstract

There are few HIV risk reduction interventions to meet the unique needs of women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV). This pilot study tested the feasibility, safety, and preliminary effects of an integrated IPV-sexual risk reduction intervention for abused women. Fifty-five women were randomized to the supporting positive and healthy relationships (SUPPORT) intervention (n = 27) or to a control group (n = 28). Assessments were conducted pre- and post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up. Post-intervention, SUPPORT participants showed a significant decrease in frequency of unprotected sex and an increase in safer sex communications with steady and other sexual partners. Compared to the control group, SUPPORT participants reported a higher number of safer sex conversations with their steady partner at the 3-month follow-up, and fewer episodes of IPV at both assessments in comparison to baseline. They showed improvements in sexual relationship power at both follow-ups and in several hypothesized antecedents of HIV-risk behavior. These encouraging preliminary findings suggest the need for a larger clinical trial.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Mental Health (K01MH080660). We would like to thank all the women who participated in this research and the project SUPPORT team members. We would also like to thank all the non-governmental organizations that partnered with us on this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Science, 1142 School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Mona Mittal

  2. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA

    Kelly Thevenet-Morrison

  3. President, Linking Human Systems, LLC, Boulder, CO, USA

    Judith Landau

  4. Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA

    Xueya Cai

  5. Global Institute of Public Health, New York University, New York, USA

    Lindsey Gibson

  6. Department of Family Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Allison Schroeder

  7. Alternatives for Battered Women, Rochester, NY, USA

    Janet Chaize

  8. Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA

    Michael P. Carey

  9. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Michael P. Carey

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  1. Mona Mittal
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  2. Kelly Thevenet-Morrison
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  3. Judith Landau
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  4. Xueya Cai
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  5. Lindsey Gibson
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  6. Allison Schroeder
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  7. Janet Chaize
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  8. Michael P. Carey
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Correspondence to Mona Mittal.

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Mittal, M., Thevenet-Morrison, K., Landau, J. et al. An Integrated HIV Risk Reduction Intervention for Women with a History of Intimate Partner Violence: Pilot Test Results. AIDS Behav 21, 2219–2232 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1427-5

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