BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To examine prevalence and predictors of condom use and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test seeking among women living in inner-city housing developments. STUDY DESIGN: Between April and June 1994, 671 women living in low-income housing developments in five cities in the United States completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire eliciting information on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) risk behavior and characteristics indicative of risk. RESULTS: Most participants were women of color who were economically disadvantaged. Fifteen percent reported multiple sex partners, and 30% of women with one sex partner believed he had sex with someone else in the past year. Predictors of condom use included increased rates of safe-sex negotiation, stronger risk reduction intentions, absence of condom barrier beliefs, and multiple sex partners. Women tested for HIV in the past year were younger, perceived themselves to be at risk for HIV infection, reported more conversations with other women about AIDS concerns, and had condoms readily available. CONCLUSIONS: HIV public health prevention interventions are urgently needed for women who live in low-income urban housing developments.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Direct medical costs of Class IV HIV care.

Over an 18-month period (January 1987 to June 1988), Group Health Cooperative (GHC) examined the direct medical costs and service utilization of enrollees with Class IV HIV conditions. Data is presented on inpatient stays, outpatient visits by specialty, and outpatient pharmacy, laboratory, home health, and purchased-outside services. Results for enrollees with Class IV HIV disease are compared to those for a control sample of enrollees, age and sex matched with the HIV sample. The per member per month (PMPM) cost for the HIV sample was $1,761, approximately 33 times greater than the PMPM cost for the control sample. Group Health's annualized cost of $21,130 per case and diagnosis-to-death cost of $31,700-$42,300 per case are comparable to costs of Class IV care in other settings. Primary care costs were 11 times that of controls. Several specialty areas (e.g., infectious disease, pulmonary, oncology, and radiation therapy) were impacted to a greater extent.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Multiple partners, risky partners and HIV risk among low-income urban women.

A sample of 671 predominantly single, young black women living in 10 low-income housing developments in five cities completed an anonymous questionnaire assessing factors related to their risk of contracting the human immunodeficiency virus, including their sexual behavior and condom use, and their partners' risk-related behaviors. In the two months before the 1994 survey, 17% of the women had sex with multiple partners and 22% had an exclusive partner who either had had other sexual partners in the past year or had a history of injection drug use; 40% had an exclusive partner who they believed had not engaged in these risky behaviors. During the same interval, 26% of women who had multiple partners received treatment for a sexually transmitted disease, compared with 9-11% of those who had an exclusive relationship. Condom use at last intercourse and communications about condom use were less frequent among women with an exclusive, risky partner than among those with multiple partners; attitudinal barriers to condom use did not vary, however, by the characteristics of women's relationships.

Adult↗