The Institute for Community Research (ICR) announced that it has received a 4-year grant to promote HIV prevention by increasing community-wide availability, accessibility, and support for use of the female condom, particularly among at-risk women and their partners in Hartford. The female condom, a polyurethane sheath worn during sex, has been shown to be the most effective woman-initiated barrier method to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections as well as pregnancy.

Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the project will identify, recruit and train a group of community members to develop and implement their own multi-level interventions to promote the female condom throughout Hartford. Group members will represent a variety of occupations and backgrounds – from clinicians, health care providers, and case managers to social workers, activists and individuals at risk for HIV. In addition to learning about the female condom and project goals, the group will be trained in community health education, participatory research methods, research ethics, and intervention building techniques. A steering committee composed of ICR staff and other experienced HIV prevention researchers and workers in the State will assist the group through all phases of the project. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop a curriculum and model for enhancing HIV prevention that can be successfully implemented in other cities.

The project, entitled “Enhancing HIV Prevention Through Multi-Level Community Intervention to Promote Women-Initiated Prevention Options,” builds on previous research that explored the barriers to female condom use in Hartford. According to project director Maryann Abbott, research shows female condoms are largely unavailable to purchase in Hartford and difficult to find for free. “Female condoms are rarely promoted by community health providers, and often ignored by clinicians as a prevention option, even when women ask for them,” notes Abbott. “That’s why we’ve developed a community-initiated approach to female condom promotion that will hopefully contribute to individual, community and organizational level change. The essential feature is that we have diverse community members working together to create interventions to benefit their community.”

ICR researchers will conduct community assessments and community-wide surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions over time. Availability of the female condom in locations such as pharmacies, clinics, and social service organizations will be assessed at baseline and every six months. A total of 1600 city residents, 400 each year, will be surveyed to determine female condom knowledge, support, use and accessibility.

Heterosexual HIV transmission continues to be one of the most tenacious problems for reversing the AIDS epidemic and incidence among women increases disproportionately in certain populations, particularly U.S. ethnic minorities, low-income and impoverished women. Since 1980, 5741 women in Connecticut have been diagnosed with HIV / AIDS, 40% of whom contracted the virus through heterosexual transmission. In 2008, women accounted for 33% of reported AIDS cases, according to the state Department of Public Health. Currently, Hartford has the highest rate of new HIV infections and the highest number of people living with HIV. For more information about the project, contact Maryann Abbott at 860-278-2044, ext, 273.

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The Institute for Community Research is an independent, nonprofit organization that conducts applied research and community enhancement programs to promote equal access to health, education, and cultural resources.