Mpumalanga Province South Africa has one of the highest HIV/AIDS diagnosis rates among pregnant women (~29. health education sessions plus PMTCT. Participants were assessed at baseline and post-intervention (approximately 6-8 weeks post-baseline) on demographics sexual behaviour HIV-related knowledge and conflict resolution strategies. Experimental 4-O-Caffeoylquinic acid participants increased HIV knowledge use of negotiation and decreased intimate partner violence. Additionally they were more likely to have increased condom use from baseline to post-intervention (OR = 5.1 95 CI 4-O-Caffeoylquinic acid = (2.0 13.3 Seroconversions in the control condition exceeded experimental (6 vs. 0). HIV serostatus disclosure to partner did not increase over 4-O-Caffeoylquinic acid time for men or women within the experimental or control condition. Male involvement in pregnancy may be an important strategy to reduce sexual risk behavior and HIV transmission. Results support the power of group interventions to enhance communication and HIV knowledge among pregnant couples. an intervention designed to enhance PMTCT uptake) into 4-O-Caffeoylquinic acid a comprehensive couples-based PMTCT intervention. The intervention consisted of four weekly 90 to 120 minute sessions emphasizing cognitive-behavioral skill building to improve communication sexual negotiation conflict resolution STI/HIV prevention PMTCT use of male and female condoms and gender-relevant issues. Intervention sessions were closed structured gender-concordant group sessions limited to 10 participants per group; male and female groups were conducted concurrently. Sessions were led by two gender-matched trained HIV counselors who did not administer assessments. Participants in the control condition received the standard Rabbit polyclonal to LDH-B of care (PMTCT) and four time-matched sessions (health-related videos). All participants were provided with male and female condoms at the close of each session. Audiotapes of all intervention sessions were transcribed and examined biweekly to ensure fidelity to the intervention. Study Design and Data Collection This study was a group-randomized controlled trial using a 2 × 2 comparison (Condition × Time) registered at clinicaltrials.gov number NCT01448512. To avoid contamination between conditions ANCs (n = 12) were randomly assigned using a remote secure randomization support to provide either the PartnerPlus PMTCT intervention (6 sites) or time matched health education sessions plus PMTCT (6 sites). HIV prevalence rates were comparable between experimental 4-O-Caffeoylquinic acid and control clinics 4-O-Caffeoylquinic acid at baseline (Chen et al. 2010 Each ANC recruited an average of 2 cohorts over 6 months beginning November 2010. Treatment protocols were in accordance with the 2010 South African Clinical Guidelines for PMTCT as detailed in Peltzer et al. 2011 Assessments were translated into local languages by qualified translators and back-translated to ensure fidelity and were interviewer-administered by trained assessors. All participants (both men and women) completed all assessments which with the exception of demographic information were collected at study entry and within a 1-3 week window following the final group session. Participants were reimbursed for their travel during assessments and sessions with food vouchers (R75 per visit ~ US$10). The retention rate for post-intervention assessments was 100%. Measures Demographics and HIV serostatus Demographics included age education employment status income locality (urban or rural) marital status and number of children. HIV serostatus of women was obtained from clinic records; women who tested negative at entry to ante-natal care were given the option to re-test at 32 weeks gestation according to South African PMTCT guidelines. Men were invited but not required to test for HIV at study entry and at post-intervention. Additionally participants reported their partner’s serostatus from which analyses of disclosure were drawn. “Accurate disclosure” here indicates those whose partner correctly identified their serostatus; “total disclosure” includes those whose partner provided an inaccurate serostatus. Sexual Activities Questionnaire This measure was.