The Prevalence of HIV Among Substance-Abusing African-American Women: A Qualitative Investigation

Abstract

Substance abuse and its influence on HIV risk affects African American women at increasingly alarming rates. African American women represent the fastest growing segment of the population of individuals who are infected with HIV in the United States. The underlying purpose of this article is to describe the process of how life situations and events relating to illicit drug use influences HIV risk in African American women who reside in an inner-city neighborhood in a metropolitan U.S. city. The basic contextual factors that influence the risk for drug use, along with other social and contextual factors that make women vulnerable for HIV infection are discussed. Finally, the need for more integrated and holistic approaches to interventions are discussed which would aid practitioners in meeting the needs of this population. KEYWORDS HIV=AIDS, substance abuse, African-American women, risk behaviorsAfrican-American women represent the fastest growing segment of the population of individuals who are infected with HIV in the United States. This increased rate of infection can largely be attributed to risk behaviors related to substance use and heterosexual contact with male partners who are injection drug users. The literature documents that substance abuse has a strong link