National AIDS Foundation Women’s Wellness Study

From December 6-15, 2007, Susan Witte, Associate Professor of Social Work at Columbia University School of Social Work (CUSSW) and Associate Director at SIG, and Marion Riedel, Associate Director of Professional Practice at CUSSW, traveled to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for the first meeting of the joint U.S.-Mongolia research team. The joint international research team is conducting the National AIDS Foundation (NAF) Women’s Wellness Study, the first behaviorally based randomized clinical trial conducted in Mongolia related to HIV/STI or alcohol abuse prevention. Dr. Witte is the Principal Investigator and Dr. Riedel is the Co-Investigator for this study. The team in Ulaanbaatar includes co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Altantsetseg Batsukh, and Project Director, Dr. Aira Toivgoo. Katie Potocnik is the Project Director for the Columbia team. The purpose of this study is to learn whether women who are at high risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and for alcohol abuse will report fewer HIV-risk behaviors after they have participated in one of three programs: 1) 4 group sessions of HIV and STI prevention; 2) 4 group sessions of general health and wellness lessons; or 3) 4 group sessions of HIV and STI prevention, plus two individual sessions of motivational interviewing to assist in both alcohol use and sexual risk reduction techniques. The study is funded by the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) and its main phase began in February, 2008, after the celebration of the lunar New Year in Mongolia. Drs. Witte and Riedel met with study’s team in Ulaanbaatar and conducted a 5-day initial training on study screening and baseline assessments, the three study intervention conditions, and overall implementation protocols for the study. The training included twenty study staff, among them a psychologist from the Narcology Center, two representatives from the local Alcoholics Anonymous, four local university social work staff and students, staff of the local NGO working with street-based sex workers, and the National AIDS Foundation staff.