Adapting HIV Interventions for Women Substance Abusers in International Settings: Lessons for the Future

• Published date: 01 January 2009
• DOI: 10.1177/002204260903900120
• Date: 01 January 2009
• Author: Wendee M. Wechsberg
• Subject Matter: Article

© 2009 BY THE JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES

JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES 0022-0426/09/01 237-244

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Wendee Wechsberg, Ph.D. is the director of the Substance Abuse Treatment Evaluations and

Interventions Research at RTI International. She is currently conducting intervention research in the

United States and internationally to help women reduce risks of substance abuse, violence, and HIV.

She has published in the areas of treatment, outreach, risk behaviors, and intervention effectiveness.

ADAPTING HIV INTERVENTIONS FOR WOMEN

SUBSTANCE ABUSERS IN INTERNATIONAL SETTINGS:

LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE

WENDEE M. WECHSBERG

Many substance abusers are at risk for HIV due to their drug using and sexual

behaviors. HIV interventions developed early on for substance abusers did not

account for gender differences. Women’s risk for HIV around the world makes them

more vulnerable than men, yet their circumstances are different and adaptations

to interventions are needed. The Women’s CoOp, considered a best-evidence

intervention, has been adapted with several groups of noninjecting women in

South Africa and with injecting drug-using women in Russia. To reach vulnerable

women in diverse settings to test interventions to reduce their risk, researchers

also need to mentor the next generation of scientists to help stem the feminization

of HIV among substance abusers.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

The HIV and substance abuse f‌i eld is indebted to the National Institute on

Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) research portfolio from the National AIDS Demonstration

Research projects, the next generation of Cooperative Agreement studies, and for

the next generation of focused research endeavors. We have learned much from

an extensive array of studies of substance abusers both in and out of treatment,

and from their partners (Brown & Beschner, 1993). For example, we have learned

about quantifying the effects of outreach (Coyle, Needle, & Normand, 1998);

deciphered direct and indirect injection sharing practices (Koester & Hoffer,

1994); learned of the need to be sensitive to gender differences pertaining to risk

and developing interventions (Sterk, 2002); enhanced our understanding that the