Faculty Articles
The Perinatal Guidelines Evaluation Project HIV and Pregnancy Study: Overview and Cohort Description
Publication Title
Public Health Reports
Publication Date
4-1-2002
Abstract
Objective. The HIV and Pregnancy Study of the Perinatal Guidelines Evaluation Project is a prospective, longitudinal, multisite study established to: (a) assess the implementation of Public Health Service guidelines regarding the prevention of perinatal HIV transmission and (b) evaluate the psychosocial consequences of HIV infection among pregnant women. A distinctive aspect of the study is the use of an HIV-negative comparison group. This article describes the methodology of the study and baseline characteristics of the study sample. Methods and Results. HIV-infected (n = 336) and uninfected (n = 298) pregnant women were enrolled from four geographic areas: Connecticut, North Carolina, Brooklyn, NY, and Miami, FL. The study included three structured face-to-face interviews from late pregnancy to six months postpartum for HIVinfected and uninfected women. Additional self-reports of medication adherence were collected for the HIV-infected participants, and the medical records of infected mothers and their infants were reviewed. Electronic monitoring of medication adherence was conducted for a subset of the infected women. The groups were successfully matched on self-reported characteristics, including HIV-risk behaviors. More than half of the uninfected women reported a highrisk sexual partner. Baseline comparisons indicated that both the HIV-infected and uninfected women had high levels of depressive symptoms, stress, and recent negative life events. Conclusions. This study provides a unique description of the psychosocial and behavioral characteristics of a population of low-income women. The results of this study suggest that HIV infection is one of many stressors faced by the women in this study.
Volume
117
Issue
2
First Page
137
Last Page
147
Disciplines
Medical Specialties | Medicine and Health Sciences | Osteopathic Medicine and Osteopathy
NSUWorks Citation
Ethier, Kathleen A.; Ickovics, Jeannette R.; Fernandez, Maria I.; Wilson, Tracey E.; Royce, Rachel A.; Koenig, Linda J.; and For the Perinatal Guidelines Evaluation Project Group, "The Perinatal Guidelines Evaluation Project HIV and Pregnancy Study: Overview and Cohort Description" (2002). Faculty Articles. 1379.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_com_faculty_articles/1379
