Comprehensive Women-Centered Treatment for Psychoactive Substance Use in the Republic of Georgia: Outcomes of a Randomized Clinical Trial

This study aimed to assess the impact of a culturally sensitive, comprehensive women-centered intervention on psychoactive substance use among women in the Republic of Georgia. Study participants included 128 women who had injected psychoactive substance(s) in the past 30 days and had enrolled in a randomized controlled trial that compared Reinforcement-Based Treatment and the Women’s CoOp (RBT+WC) to usual care (UC). RBT+WC provided a structured 12-session intervention designed to reduce HIV/HCV risk and psychoactive substance and alcohol use, and to improve mental and physical health, whereas UC provided information booklets on the same topics and case management for 12 sessions. Urine drug screening was conducted at baseline, treatment completion, and 3-month follow-up. The findings showed that RBT+WC was not more effective than UC, although both treatments positively impacted opioid, benzodiazepine, and amphetamine/methamphetamine use. The findings suggest that RBT+WC represents a promising comprehensive women-centered intervention for reducing substance use and HIV risks for Georgian women who use substances.