Project neighborhoods in action: an HIV-related intervention project targeting drug abusers in Washington, DC

Project Neighborhoods in Action was a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) outreach and intervention program that was conducted with injection drug users and crack users in several inner-city neighborhoods in the District of Columbia. Study participants were placed randomly in either a standard intervention or an enhanced intervention condition, with more than 800 persons being assigned to each group. Drug use frequency dropped from 15.2 days to 12.4 for alcohol (P<.0001), 2.1 days to 1.6 for marijuana (P<.003), 13.0 days to 8.8 days for crack (P<.0001), 2.4 days to 1.5 days for cocaine (P<.0001), 19.7 days to 15.6 for heroin (P<.0001), and 5.2 days to 3.4 for speedball (P<.0001). Drug injecting decreased from an average of 90.8 times to 66.9 (P<.0001), with both direct sharing and indirect sharing rates decreasing significantly as well (from 2.4 to 1.1 times for the former [P<.002] and from 12.0 to 8.1 times for the latter [P<.0004]). The number of sexual partners dropped from a mean of 1.6 to 1.1 (P<.0001). The number of drug-injecting sexual partners went from 0.3 to 0.2 (P<.01). Having sex while high decreased from 11.2 times to 7.9 (P<.0001). Trading sex for drugs and/or money declined from 1.9 times to 1.3 (P<.001). Protected sex increased from 29.5% to 63.7% (P<.0001), and the number of unprotected sexual acts dropped from 9.6 to 7.2 (P<.0001). Only a few differences were observed for standard versus enhanced intervention respondents, with no particular pattern formed. We were left with the impression that the standard intervention and enhanced intervention used in this program were about equally effective at reducing the involvement of drug abusers in HIV-related risky behaviors.