Developing an effective intervention for IDU women: a harm reduction approach to collaboration

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Community Health
• HIV Prevention

Background:

• Harm reduction theory emphasizes patient empowerment in healthcare.
• Collaboration between researchers and community partners is crucial for effective health interventions.
• Injection drug use among women presents unique challenges for HIV prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply harm reduction theory to empower community partners and researchers.
• To develop and evaluate an HIV prevention intervention for women who inject drugs (IDUs) or their partners.
• To enhance the capacity of community-based organizations (CBOs) in HIV prevention research and evaluation.

Main Methods:

• The Women's Options for Risk Reduction through Knowledge of Self (WORKS) intervention included HIV prevention workshops.
• Sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV counseling and testing were provided.
• A collaborative approach integrated researcher and service provider strengths for evaluation.

Main Results:

• The project facilitated overcoming preconceptions between collaborating partners.
• Capacity building focused on integrating evaluation into HIV prevention service delivery.
• Barriers to planning, implementation, and evaluation were identified and addressed.

Conclusions:

• The WORKS intervention aimed to improve CBOs' ability to use data for effective HIV prevention and evaluation.
• Process evaluation results demonstrated progress in prevention and research capacity development.
• Successful collaboration enhanced the effectiveness of HIV prevention strategies for IDUs.