Kershaw and Colleagues Publish Article in AJPH, “Pregnancy as a Window of Opportunity for HIV Prevention…”
The September 2009 American Journal of Public Health includes an article published by Dr. Kershaw, PARTNRS Principal Investigator and Dr. Magriples, a PARTNRS Co-Investigator and Colleagues, “Pregnancy as a Window of Opportunity for HIV Prevention: Effects of an HIV Intervention Delivered Within Prenatal Care.” Additional Authors include Claire Westdahl, Sharon Schindler Rising, and Jeanette Ickovics. This article emanates from the Centering Pregnancy Research Group, affiliated with the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) at Yale.
Abstract
Objectives. We sought to determine whether an HIV prevention program bundled with group prenatal care reduced sexually transmitted infection (STI) incidence, repeat pregnancy, sexual risk behavior, and psychosocial risks.
Methods. We conducted a randomized controlled trial at 2 prenatal clinics. We assigned pregnant women aged 14 to 25 years (N=1047) to individual care, attention-matched group care, and group care with an integrated HIV component. We conducted structured interviews at baseline (second trimester), third trimester, and 6 and 12 months postpartum.
Results. Mean age of participants was 20.4 years; 80% were African American. According to intent-to-treat analyses, women assigned to the HIV-prevention group intervention were significantly less likely to have repeat pregnancy at 6 months postpartum than individual-care and attention-matched controls; they demonstrated increased condom use and decreased unprotected sexual intercourse compared with individual-care and attention-matched controls. Subanalyses showed that being in the HIV-prevention group reduced STI incidence among the subgroup of adolescents.
Conclusion. HIV prevention integrated with prenatal care resulted in reduced biological, behavioral, and psychosocial risks for HIV.
