Intervention to Improve Engagement in Care Among Newly Diagnosed HIV-positive Men

• Viral load [ Time Frame: 12 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

• Sexual HIV transmission risk behavior [ Time Frame: Baseline, post (3 months), 6, 9, and 12 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Timeline Followback Method (Sobell et al., 1996) for Transmission Risk Behavior, Risk Reduction Behavioral Intentions (Fisher, 1992), HIV Serostatus Disclosure (Kalichman, 2001) & HIV Disclosure or Nondisclosure (Serovich & Mosack, 2003), Risk Reduction Self-Efficacy (Kalichman, 2001), Risk Reduction Skill Enactment (Kalichman, 2001), Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory (Minor et al., 2007), Sexual Sensation Seeking (Kalichman & Rompa, 1995)
  
  
• Care and treatment uptake/adherence [ Time Frame: Baseline, post (3 months), 6, 9, and 12 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  • Medical Chart/Self-report to assess Treatment Utilization
  • HIV Treatment and Risk-Related Knowledge (Kalichman, 2000)
  
  
• Viral load [ Time Frame: 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

Objectives:

The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of Promoting Action Towards Health (PATH), a brief health-enhancement and risk reduction intervention targeting newly HIV diagnosed men who have sex with men (MSM).

Specific Aims:

The investigators will establish the efficacy of PATH. The following hypotheses will be tested: Participants in the experimental condition will (1) achieve significantly greater suppression of HIV viral load; (2) demonstrate greater uptake of care and adherence to treatment; and (3) engage in less sexual HIV transmission risk behavior across the study duration than participants in the comparison condition.

Procedures:

440 newly HIV diagnosed (within three months) men will be randomly assigned to either: (1) the PATH experimental condition, or (2) the PCC comparison condition and followed for one year. HIV counselors will be trained to deliver the interventions within each condition. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months.

Significance:

Given increases in HIV incidence among MSM, advances in HIV treatment, and the demonstrated efficacy of early treatment in preventing HIV transmission, there is a critical need for effective interventions that can increase engagement and retention of MSM in care and reduce sexual HIV transmission risk behavior. PATH can be seamlessly integrated into medical care and translated into a sustainable model of care for newly diagnosed MSM to meet the urgent need for care programs that identify, treat, and prevent HIV infections.