MD for Life is a study that will help health-care professionals and researchers learn how well an intervention works with people living with HIV. Funded by the University-wide AIDS Research Program, the intervention is designed to reduce sexual risk and substance behavior by increasing motivation and intention for behavior change among individuals living with HIV. The intervention will be delivered in two different modalities. The first intervention delivery strategy will have a health care professional, trained in counseling techniques, talk with patients about their sexual and substance use risk behaviors. The second delivery strategy will have the patient receive the counseling via an interactive and engaging computer program. The counseling is based on a proven technique called motivational interviewing. This counseling technique has been successful in reducing alcohol use in multiple populations. A total of 400 patients are being recruited from four health clinics (100 patients from each clinic) that primarily serve individuals living with HIV.
While other HIV prevention programs have been successful, they have been expensive, needed multiple small group sessions, and required coordination of many schedules and extensive training for staff. This project builds on previous prevention successes and utilizes existing staff, treatment delivery settings, and new technology to deliver a brief innovative intervention that can be repeatedly delivered to a diverse population of individuals living with HIV. If successful, this program would be an inexpensive and fairly effortless program to implement in health clinics nationwide.
Links to Interventions, Training Manuals, etc. :
Please call us, 310-794-8278, regarding the computerized based intervention.