Alongside the recognized need to foster the development of innovative gender-specific HIV interventions, researchers face the urgent need to further understand how current interventions do or do not work. Few studies build posttrial qualitative analysis into standardized interview assessments in randomized controlled trials in order to bolster an assessment of how interventions work. The current investigation is a posttrial qualitative analysis carried out on a randomly selected subsample (N=180), representing 50% of women who participated in a 3-arm randomized controlled trial known as Project FIO (The Future Is Ours). FIO was a gender-specific HIV prevention intervention carried out with heterosexually active women in a high seroprevalence area of New York City. Posttrial qualitative results extend an understanding of the success of the trial (e.g., reductions in unsafe sex). Qualitative results reflect how the Modified AIDS Risk Reduction Model operated in the expected direction across experimental groups. Results also highlight women's empowerment narratives, reflecting the salience of bodily and sexual rights aspects of the intervention.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by center grants P50-MH43520 and P30-MH43520 from NIMH to the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Anke A. Ehrhardt, PhD, Principal Investigator, and by NRSA training grant T32-MH19139, to Behavioral Sciences Research Training in HIV Infection. The opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect those of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. We thank the study participants for their involvement. The authors gratefully acknowledge theoretical comments provided by Theo Sandfort and Zena Stein, methodological insights offered by Robert Kertzner and postdoctoral research fellows at the HIV Center, and the careful editing provided by Vanessa Haney and Isabel Howe.
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Dworkin, S.L., Exner, T., Melendez, R. et al. Revisiting “Success”: Posttrial Analysis of a Gender-Specific HIV/STD Prevention Intervention. AIDS Behav 10, 41–51 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-005-9023-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-005-9023-0