Background: The goal of the HIV Transmission Prevention Project (HTPP) is to prevent the transmission of HIV by addressing the multiple factors that affect sexual and drug use risk behaviors among high-risk HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals. Clinicians trained in harm reduction theory have begun recruiting clients to participate in an intensive intervention where individualized risk-reduction plans (RRP) are negotiated between counselor and client. RRP consist of small, incremental behaviors that have the potential to immediately or eventually reduce the risk of HIV transmission. Objective: To characterize the type and frequency of RRP by HIV serostatus. Method: Potential clients are screened for HTPP eligibility at 11 sites. During meetings between counselor and HTPP client, individualized RRP are negotiated and recorded. Results: From 624 individualized RRP negotiated by 58 clients, 32 unique categories were identified. RRP of greatest frequency was “always use condoms” regardless of serostatus. After this, “return for next appointment” and "will use condoms within a specific time frame" were most common for HIV-negative clients; “take HIV medications” and “enroll/begin drug treatment,” were most common for HIV-positive clients. Conclusions: Our findings identify which RRP are acceptable to high-risk HIV-negative and HIV-positive individuals, and which harm-reduction behaviors clients will initially agree to attempt to conduct. The next steps in this research will be to determine which RRP are successful (via self-reported adherence) and the sequence of RRP across the spectrum of risk behaviors.
Learning Objectives: N/A
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, HIV Interventions
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.