CHARACTERlSTlCS
OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN WITH HIV AND AIDS
419
TABLE 5.
Noninjection drug use in women with HIV and AIDS interviewed
in Los Angeles County, 199-1997
| Behavior |
(n =168) |
(n = 87) |
(n = 357) |
(n =12) |
OR |
95% |
Cl |
| Noninjection drug use in past 5 years |
| Yes |
93 |
55 |
45 |
52 |
57 |
16 |
2 |
17 |
3.3b |
2.2 |
4.9 |
| No |
75 |
45 |
42 |
48 |
300 |
84 |
10 |
83 |
|
|
|
| Non-injection drugs used in past 5 yearsc |
| Heroin |
21 |
23 |
11 |
24 |
23 |
40 |
0 |
— |
0.6 |
0.3 |
1.1 |
| Cocaine (snorting
and free basing) |
51 |
55 |
25 |
56 |
44 |
77 |
1 |
50 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
1.1 |
| Crack (smoking) |
69 |
74 |
14 |
31 |
31 |
54 |
1 |
50 |
3.5b |
1.9 |
6.4 |
| Valium |
11 |
12 |
8 |
18 |
15 |
26 |
2 |
100 |
0.4 |
0.2 |
0.9 |
| PCP,
LSD-Hallucinogenics |
7 |
8 |
6 |
13 |
10 |
18 |
0 |
— |
0.4 |
0.2 |
1.1 |
| Barbiturates |
5 |
5 |
10 |
22 |
7 |
12 |
0 |
— |
0.3 |
0.1 |
0.8 |
| Marijuana,
hashish, or THC |
65 |
70 |
32 |
71 |
34 |
60 |
2 |
100 |
1.2 |
0.7 |
2.2 |
| Speed |
5 |
5 |
15 |
33 |
13 |
23 |
1 |
50 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.4 |
| Ever used crack cocaine?. |
| Yes |
84 |
50 |
26 |
30 |
40 |
11 |
1 |
8 |
4.7b |
3.2 |
7.1 |
| No |
83 |
49 |
61 |
70 |
317 |
89 |
11 |
92 |
|
|
|
| Refused to answer |
I |
1 |
0 |
— |
0 |
— |
0 |
— |
|
|
|
| Ever used crack in a crack house?d |
| Yes |
39 |
46 |
10 |
38 |
10 |
25 |
1 |
100 |
1.7b |
0.9 |
3.4 |
| No |
45 |
54 |
16 |
62 |
30 |
75 |
0 |
— |
|
|
|
| Ever had sex in a crack house when using
crack?e |
| Yes |
17 |
44 |
3 |
30 |
5 |
50 |
0 |
— |
1.1b |
0.3 |
3.3 |
| No |
22 |
56 |
7 |
70 |
5 |
50 |
1 |
100 |
|
|
|
OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval;
PCP, phencyclidine; LSD, Iysergic acid diethylamide; THC, tetrahydrocannabinol.
a The OR and 95% Cls were calculated comparing African-American women
with women of all other races.
b Adjusted OR controlling for number of sexual partners in the last 5
years.
c The totals for this analysis includes persons who have practiced
non-injection drug use in the past 5 years.
d The totals for this analysis includes persons who have used crack
cocaine.
e The totals for this analysis includes persons who have used crack
cocaine in a crack house.
users
demonstrated that despite a high level of understanding regarding HIV transmission,
HIV/AIDS education efforts largely failed and high-risk sexual hehaviors continued (6,7).
Clearly, education alone iS not sufficient for preventing HIV infection in
African-American women in LAC, hut that client-centered programs that are based on a
"contextual" model (3) that incorporates the disadvantaged circumstances of
these women, including the culture of crack cocaine, will he considerably more effective.
These interventions must include assistance to Afr~can-American women in developing
selfesteem and the skills necessary to negotiate safer hehavior in their sexual
relationships with men.
Acknowledgments: We would like to acknowledge the following persons
for their contribution to this work: Theresa Diaz, Allyn Nakashima, and Bernard Nahlen,
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Maribel Castillon, Lucia Iglesias,
Paul Simon, Gordon Bunch, Trista gingham, Chris Rosales, and Kai-Jen Cheng, Los Angeles
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CP2 . |
Journal of Acquired
Immune Def ciency Syndromes and Human Retrovirology, Vol. 19, No. 4, December 1, 1998
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