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01-04-2011 | Original paper

Adding the Female Condom to HIV Prevention Interventions for Women with Severe Mental Illness: A Pilot Test

Authors: Pamela Y. Collins, Hella von Unger, Susan Putnins, Natalie Crawford, Ragini Dutt, Marcela Hoffer

Published in: Community Mental Health Journal | Issue 2/2011

Abstract

We evaluated the efficacy of a gender-specific intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors by introducing female-initiated methods to urban women with severe mental illness. Seventy-nine women received 10 sessions of an HIV prevention intervention or a control intervention. The primary outcome was unprotected oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse, expressed using the Vaginal Episode Equivalent (VEE) score. Knowledge and use of the female condom were also assessed. Women in the HIV prevention intervention showed a three-fold reduction in the VEE score at the 3-month follow-up compared to the control group, but the difference was not significant. These women were significantly more likely to know about female condoms, have inserted one and used it with a sexual partner at the 3-month follow-up and to have inserted it at 6 months compared to controls. The female condom may be a useful addition, for a subset of women with SMI, to comprehensive HIV prevention programs.

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Title: Adding the Female Condom to HIV Prevention Interventions for Women with Severe Mental Illness: A Pilot Test
Authors: Pamela Y. Collins
Hella von Unger
Susan Putnins
Natalie Crawford
Ragini Dutt
Marcela Hoffer
Publication date: 01-04-2011
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Community Mental Health Journal / Issue 2/2011
Print ISSN: 0010-3853
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2789
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-010-9302-8

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Adding the Female Condom to HIV Prevention Interventions for Women with Severe Mental Illness: A Pilot Test

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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