The FEMAALES Project is a collaboration between JWCH Institute, Inc. (Sergio M. Avina), Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science (Nina T. Harawa, Ph.D.), and UCLA (John K. Williams, M.D.).

Statement of Problem
Racial/ethnic differences in the impact of the US HIV/AIDS epidemic have been most apparent among African American women, who account for at least six out of every ten female AIDS cases, while comprising just 1 out 8 females in the population. National HIV/AIDS rates among Black women are currently 24 and 4.1 times those of White and Latina women, respectively. Social and cultural factors may impact African American heterosexual partnerships. HIV risk-reduction interventions must be developed that are specifically designed for African American women with male partners who (1) have an unknown sexual history, (2) have sex with other men, (3) have sex with male-to-female transgender, (4) have been incarcerated for more than six months, (5) are injection drug users, or (6) are crack cocaine users. HIV risk-reduction interventions targeting African American women with at-risk male partners are greatly needed.

Recruitment and Screening
When potential participants see the posted flyers and recruitment ads, they can call the project number and be screened. Callers will be given information about FemAALES and asked whether they are interested in participating. If the caller is still interested, they will be asked questions to see if they are eligible to participate in the study. If eligible, a baseline interview with the caller is scheduled.

Baseline Interview Survey
Prior to the baseline interview, a potential participant is given an Informed Consent form. This form helps to explain the purpose of the study, procedures, and risks and benefits of participating. Once the potential participant has reviewed the form and had all of their questions answered, they will be asked to explain what the interviewer has presented. The participant can sign the Informed Consent form after explaining what she understood. This ensures that the participant understands. Initial questions are done face to face to create a comfortable environment. The rest of the interview is administered on a laptop - they answer questions on a computer. The study focuses on some hard to sensitive topics such as sex, HIV, and unhealthy relationships.

At this point, the participant is also asked if she has an email account or if she would like to open one with the assistance of the interviewer. The interviewer will encourage participant to email the interviewer. Finally, a business card is given to participant and the session is over.

Randomization
After women are enrolled, they will be randomly put into one of two programs - it's like flipping a coin to see if participants go into the FemAALES or another program called the HARRP (Healthy Alternatives for Reducing the Risk for HIV Infection Program). HARRP is an HIV education and risk reduction program consisting of four sessions. It is non-gender and non-ethnically specific. Those randomized into the FemAALES intervention will be given the date and address for the next meeting of the group. Those placed in the HARRP group will stay on a waiting list to complete the HARRP after completing the post- and 3-month surveys for comparison to the FemAALES group.

FemAALES Intervention
Participants assigned to the FemAALES Intervention will attend 6 sessions over three weeks. Each session is 2 hours and is lead by a trained facilitator. They address several topics: being a black woman in America, Black history, assessing personal health, changing current behaviors, HIV/AIDS information and education, self-empowerment, communication skills, reasons to change, and goal setting. At the end of the 6th session, participants will be asked to complete a post session interview and after 3 months, the will be contacted for another interview.

Waitlisted HARRP Group
Participants who are assigned to the waitlisted group of the FemAALES project will be contacted 4 weeks following their assignment and asked to complete a post survey. They will be contacted again at the 3 months for their 3rd month survey.

Post and 3rd Month Interviews
The post and 3rd month interviews will be self-administered using a laptop computer and audio-interface. Questions in the post and 3rd month interview will be similar to the baseline interview with the exception of the time periods.

Evaluation Surveys
Participants from FemAALES and HARRP Intervention will be asked to complete surveys during the last sessions to evaluate the intervention. The evaluation sheets will not have ay personal identifiers and will be placed in an enveloped and returned to the project office.