NCJ Number
167114
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 26 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1996) Pages: 619-634
Date Published
1996
Length
16 pages
Annotation
The aim of a National Institute on Drug Abuse cooperative agreement project in Detroit was to compare the effectiveness of two outreach interventions in decreasing AIDS-related high-risk behaviors of injecting drug users and crack cocaine users not in treatment programs.
Abstract
A sample of 539 drug users, 70 percent male and 30 percent female, was selected from two high-risk neighborhoods. All subjects participated in two standard AIDS educational and counseling sessions. Half the subjects then participated in an enhanced intervention--a nursing intervention called Personalized Nursing LIGHT Model. A regression model was used to compare effects within the two study groups on number of times injecting heroin, crack cocaine use, and number of episodes of unprotected sex during the preceding 30 days. Differences between the enhanced group's actual post-test behavior and the behavior predicted by standard treatment alone were attributed to the enhanced treatment. These differences were in the expected direction during the second year of the study when program conditions were at their maximum, staff were on board and trained, and clients participated actively. Significant decreases were obtained for all three risk behaviors (heroin, crack, and unprotected sex). A dosage measure, participation in addiction treatment, was also significant. The results show enhanced treatment adds to behavior improvement beyond the standard intervention, when treatment conditions operate as planned. 16 references, 2 tables, 1 figure, and 2 charts