Effectiveness of an HIV risk reduction counseling intervention for out-of-treatment drug users

This study examined and compared the effectiveness of two counseling interventions designed to reduce the HIV drug and sexual risk behaviors of 684 out-of-treatment drug users recruited from South Philadelphia, PA. All study participants received a standard intervention and one half were randomly assigned to also receive the enhanced intervention. The standard intervention provided HIV risk reduction education, HIV testing with pretest and posttest counseling, and training in condom use and needle cleaning. The enhanced intervention provided additional information on STD risk reduction. Both interventions were effective in influencing behavior change between baseline and 6-month follow-up. A higher proportion of persons reduced their drug risk behaviors compared to their sexual risk behaviors. As sexual risk behaviors are more resistant to change, there is a need for tailored interventions that target out-of-treatment drug users.