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Type Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail. Strategies to identify and influence persons at increased risk for infection with human immunodeficiency virus HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases STDs require outreach to provide prevention messages directly to persons at risk, assist them to obtain prevention services, and encourage them to reduce risks. Street outreach programs complement CDC's information and education campaign "America Responds to AIDS" by providing persons with specific risk-reduction messages and materials 1.
This report describes efforts to implement such approaches in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and presents preliminary results regarding the prevalence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis infections among female street prostitutes in that community. Since , women who identified themselves or were referred to the health department as prostitutes in Colorado Springs El Paso County have been offered voluntary screening for gonorrhea and syphilis 2,3.
In , after a cross-sectional study established the prevalence of HIV and other STDs in 98 prostitutes 4 , the El Paso County Health Department began an intensive program of risk-reduction counseling and condom distribution for female prostitutes in Colorado Springs. Health workers visited sites where prostitutes congregate to 1 present and reinforce messages about STDs and HIV infection prevention, 2 encourage prostitutes and their sex partners to visit the local health department clinic for HIV-antibody testing and screening for other STDs, 3 refer drug users to local drug-treatment programs, and 4 dispense free condoms and bottles of bleach for injecting-drug users IDUs to use in cleaning needles and syringes.
On average, one worker spent approximately 1 hour per day in the field, spoke with approximately five prostitutes per day, and distributed approximately condoms per week. In , the prevalence of N. An analysis based on a logistic regression model 5 suggested that the prevalence of both N. When an adjustment was made in the model for the effect of the year of testing, 32 prostitutes who were tested five or more times were significantly less likely to be infected with N.
