Adolescent female school dropouts who use drugs and engage in risky sex: effects of a brief pilot intervention in Cape Town, South Africa
Open accessAbstract
Female adolescents from socioeconomically underserved communities in Cape Town, South Africa, who have dropped out of school, use substances, and engage in risky sex behaviour are at risk of HIV. Tailored gender-focused HIV behavioural interventions for this key population are needed to mitigate these risk factors. A pilot trial of a woman-focused risk-reduction intervention for adolescents was conducted (N = 100), with a one-month follow-up appointment. Participants in the intervention group attended two group workshops. Data were examined for significant differences within and between the groups. At baseline, 94% of participants tested positive for cannabis, 17% were HIV-positive and 11% were pregnant. Ninety-two participants returned for 1-month follow-up. At follow-up, the proportion who tested positive for cannabis use decreased significantly in both the intervention (p = 0.07) and control groups (p = 0.04). Impaired sex with any partner (p = 0.02), or with main partner (p = 0.06) decreased among the intervention group. Impaired sex with a main partner was less likely in the intervention group (p = 0.07) in the regression model. In conclusion, findings indicate a need for HIV prevention interventions among out-of-school female adolescents. Intervention acceptability was high, and there were some decreases in sexual risk behaviour among intervention participants which is promising. Future intervention research with this key population involving larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods will help to determine intervention efficacy.
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- Authors
- Carney, T., Browne, F. A., Myers, B., Kline, T. L., Howard, B., & Wechsberg, W. M.
- Affiliations
- South African Medical Research Council (ZA)
- RTI International (US)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- Carney, Tara
- Venue
- AIDS Care
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2018-07-18
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 77-84
- ISSN
- 0954-0121 (ISSN-L)
- 1360-0451
- PMC
- PMC6343022
- OpenAlex
- W2883471870
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 5.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- AIDS Care (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Drug Abuse
- NIDA (R01DA032061-S1)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- Keywords
- adolescent girls, school dropout, substance use, cannabis use, sexual risk behavior, HIV prevention, risk reduction interventions, out-of-school adolescents, treatment acceptability, Cape Town
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Health Education, Humans, Male, Pilot Projects, Risk Factors, Risk-Taking, Sexual Behavior, Sexual Partners, South Africa, Student Dropouts, Program Evaluation, HIV Infections, Program Development, Substance-Related Disorders, Vulnerable Populations, Risk Reduction Behavior, Young Adult
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