Thompson AS, Blankenship KM, Winfrey J, Altice FL, Selwyn PA; HIV Infection in Women Conference.
Program Abstr HIV Infect Women Conf HIV Infect Women Conf 1995 Wash DC. 1995 Feb 22-24; S19.
Yale University AIDS Program, New Haven, CT.
OBJECTIVES: To examine barriers to social and medical services among drug using women with or at risk for HIV infection, at the inception of a 3 year case management intervention. METHODS: Women with a history of drug use were recruited from a needle exchange program and Connecticut's sole correctional facility for women. Structured baseline interviews were administered to define the study population and to identify needs for and barriers to services. RESULTS: The mean age for the 75 women interviewed was 35 yrs; (49%) were Black, (31%) Latina, and (20%) White. Women infected with HIV (41%) were more likely to have a history of injection drug use, incarceration, and/or commercial sex work (p less than .01). Case management/advocacy was the most frequent identified service need (41%), followed by drug treatment (31%) and non-HIV related medical care (31%). For all women, shelter and food/clothing ranked first among unmet needs for services. Across the sample the barriers to service utilization identified most frequently were waiting time (36%), not knowing where to get services (25%), childcare (13%), and transportation (12%). HIV- women identified barriers for all service categories 1.6 times more frequently than HIV+ women. CONCLUSION: In this sample, both HIV- and HIV+ drug using women identified basic survival needs as the most common unmet service. In order to improve service utilization and access, case management interventions must address these basic needs as well as the logistics of negotiating a complex care system for women and their children. Follow-up interviews will examine the impact of aggressive case management and advocacy in our high risk population.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Case Management
- Child
- Connecticut
- Female
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Health Services Needs and Demand
- Humans
- Prostitution
- Substance-Related Disorders
- organization & administration
Other ID:
UI: 102214768
From Meeting Abstracts