The goal of the Project PACT is to promote healthy communication and healthy relationships, and integrate issues of reproductive health and the prevention of HIV, STIs, and substance abuse.

It is the first study to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an HIV and drug abuse prevention intervention for men in Criminal/Community Court and Probation settings and their female partners. The study has been designed specifically for delivery in community criminal justice sites. This study, therefore, addresses a critical gap in HIV prevention targeting underserved populations who remain at very high risk of HIV/STIs.

The study was recently funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and will rigorously evaluate the implementation, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a 4-session, couple-based intervention targeting approximately 240 men and their female partners (480 participants in total).  The study will be carried out by the Social Intervention Group (SIG) at Columbia University School of Social Work in collaboration with the Center for Court Innovation and the New York City Department of Probation.

Previous papers on couple-based studies that SIG has published
– The Efficacy of a Relationship-Based HIV/STD Prevention Program for Heterosexual Couples Read More: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.93.6.963
– Long-Term Effects of an HIV/STI Sexual Risk Reduction Intervention for Heterosexual Couples
– Couple-Based HIV Prevention for Injecting Drug Users in Kazakhstan: A Pilot Intervention Study
– Couple-Based HIV Prevention in the United States: Advantages, Gaps, and Future Directions
– National Institute of Mental Health Multisite Eban HIV/STD Prevention Intervention for African American HIV Serodiscordant Couples: A Cluster Randomized Trial