Promoting healthy minds and bodies of HIV+ individuals through disclosure and social support: An experiment testing the Brief Disclosure Intervention

Background: Disclosing HIV status is a difficult decision balancing potential risks with benefits. The Brief Disclosure Intervention (BDI) utilizes the tradition of Brief Motivational Interviewing to increase HIV disclosure efficacy, disclosure, and social support. This project developed a 10-15 minute intervention to be used with case managers to facilitate HIV disclosure decision-making as a tool for use in direct practice. Methods: We evaluate BDI efficacy (N = 55 HIV+ individuals) with clients from a large northeastern ASO. We compare the BDI intervention with two control (pre/posttest assessment only and posttest only) groups. Cognitive and behavioral outcomes will be assessed six months post intervention to estimate BDI impact. [all controls receive BDI as a delayed component]. Results: Time 1 results suggest some differences in immediate post measures. BDI clients reported less anxiety and more confidence at the end of the interview (compared to the beginning) than did participants in the control group (some reported more anxiety and less confidence at the end). In post T1 interviews, staff reported intervention participants want to discuss the disclosure strategies. Although there was no significant difference in perceptions of variety of strategies to share HIV+ status, clients shared with case managers that they had not previously thought about the different ways to share. Conclusions: Preliminary results suggest that the BDI increases confidence in HIV+ individuals' ability to share their HIV status and decreases disclosure anxiety. The BDI provides a variety of different strategies for sharing HIV status and is brief enough to be adopted.