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Like many areas of the country, the state of Tennessee is experiencing a recent and growing rise in the rate of methamphetamine use, particularly in rural areas of the state. While substance use is a known risk factor for contracting HIV/AIDS, there is limited information regarding the risk behaviors of rural methamphetamine users. This paper seeks to document the existence of known HIV risk behaviors as they relate to rural southern methamphetamine use. Qualitative interviews with ninety-seven current and former methamphetamine users from the Cumberland Plateau area, a rural mountainous region in the state of Tennessee, suggest that methamphetamine users are putting themselves at risk for contracting HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases through high-risk injection and sexual behaviors. Additionally, the results present the perceptions of respondents regarding the impact of methamphetamine use on rural communities and related service needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant health disparities in the rates of HJV infection exist that primarily impact African American women. While research has demonstrated that HIV is preventable through changes in high-risk behaviors facilitated by substance abuse treatment, an individual must first be able to access and engage with treatment to derive any benefit from these services. While there is some research that identifies barriers to treatment access and engagement for African American women who use crack cocaine, these barriers require further examination. Current lit erature has focused primarily on internal motivation and treatment readiness without placing these concepts within the unique environmental context of social stressors for crack cocaine-using African American women. This study presents the results of eleven focus groups with eighty-nine African American women in which respondents document the HIV risk behaviors of crack cocaine users, present their experiences [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]