Rationale aims and objectives: Promoting the secondary prevention of HIV transmission is essential.
Method: An intervention. aimed at increasing condom use by partners. was delivered to HIV positive women attending a Brazilian clinic. It included educational advice delivered by doctors. and unlimited access to free condoms. A pre-post design was used: 170 control group women were recruited. the intervention was implemented. and 170 intervention group women were then enrolled. All were interviewed at baseline. 30 and 60 days.
Results: After training. doctors were more likely to provide advice on condom use. Reported use increased by 8.8% points (a 14.2% increase) in the intervention group after 30 days. and by 5.7 points (9.5%) in the control group (P = 0.52).
Conclusion: The reasons why the intervention failed to reach a significant effect are discussed. as are the possible Public Health impact of a 14.2% increase in condom use among HIV positive women.