DRUG USE AND HEALTH SERVICES UTILIZATION OF HIV+ WOMEN

DESCRIPTION: (Applicant's Abstract) This application is a request for a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (KO1) from the National Institute Drug Abuse (NIDA) for Lisa R. Metsch, Ph.D. Her commitment to a research career in drug abuse combined with her training and research interests in HIV/AIDS and health services research and the opportunities offered by the proposed mentor, Clyde B. McCoy, Ph.D. and the interdisciplinary research team at the Comprehensive Drug Research Center and the newly NIDA funded Health Services Research Center at the University of Miami make the KO1 from NIDA an ideal funding mechanism for her at this stage of her career. For this award, she will participate in a rigorous interdisciplinary, collaborative, applied drug abuse research program that will lead to her gaining the needed skills of research methodology, project management, grantsmanship, and publication essential to the success and survival of independent research scientists. The proposed research is a theoretically-driven 5-year multidisciplinary project to study access and utilization of health services among women drug users living with HIV infection. A total sample of 600 HIV seropositive African American women injecting drug users, non-injecting drug users, and non-drug users will be selected from previous Miami studies to be enrolled i the proposed project. These women will be administered a comprehensive health interview schedule that is guided theoretically and focuses on personal background factors, individual, social, and environmental factors, and evaluated and perceived need as it relates to health care utilization. The proposed research is the first stage of a two stage process. Using the proposed theoretical framework, data gathered from this study will be used to develop intervention strategies. Stage 1 (proposed study) will provide the theoretical methodological, and empirical basis for the development of an intervention which be carried out in a future Stage 2 study.