| Title | Outcomes of a peer HIV prevention program with injection drug and crack users: the Risk Avoidance Partnership. |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2009 |
| Authors | Weeks, Margaret R., Jianghong Li, Julia Dickson-Gomez, Mark Convey, Maria Martinez, Kim Radda, and Scott Clair |
| Journal | Substance use & misuse |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pagination | 253-81 |
| Date Published | 2009 |
| ISSN | 1532-2491 |
| Keywords | 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 |
| 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. |
| DOI | 10.1080/10826080802347677 |
| Alternate Journal | Subst Use Misuse |
