ABSTRACT
Eff ective models and methods for reaching those at risk for HIV are needed, especially for those from diverse urban, poor areas where rates of HIV are highest. In the United States, high-risk heterosexual contact is the largest risk category for women of color and the second largest for men of color for HIV/AIDS (Prejean, Satcher, Durant, Hu, & Lee, 2006), and internationally, heterosexual sex is a primary exposure category for HIV/AIDS. Consistent condom use off ers the best hope of reducing rates of infection. Public health and behavioral research communities are seeking eff ective interventions to increase condom use that can be delivered at low cost to large segments of the at-risk population. Th is study, Rhode Island Project RESPECT, developed and evaluated a theoretically and empirically tailored expert system (ES) intervention based on the transtheoretical model (TTM) to increase condom use in at-risk heterosexually active women and men. Th is intervention combines the reach of large-scale public health eff orts with the effi cacy of more traditional clinical interventions, potentially enhancing public health impact. Th is TTM-tailored intervention was designed to intervene with participants at all stages of condom use and was delivered via
a multimedia computer-based ES that has the potential to be both cost-eff ective and widely disseminated.
