Reducing Risk and Trauma-Related Stress in Persons Living With HIV - Full Text View

Purpose

This two-year study tested the concept that an intervention, which reduces trauma-related symptoms among adults who are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), are experiencing trauma-related stress symptoms, and engaging in behavior that facilitates HIV transmission, can reduce the transmission risk of (HIV). Our central premise was that by first treating trauma symptoms, we would enhance the effects of a skills-building HIV risk reduction intervention for adults experiencing trauma-related symptoms such as hyperarousal, dissociation, and avoidance.

The study aims were to:

To determine if decreasing trauma-related stress symptoms improves HIV risk reduction behavior above a standard HIV risk reduction intervention alone post-intervention and 3 months after the small group intervention sessions;
To determine whether key variables moderate the intervention’s effects. For instance, gender, age, ethnicity, or psychological distress (e.g., depression, anxiety) may interact with the intervention to affect risky sexual or drug-related behavior; and
To determine whether there is evidence that the theoretical mediator variables, which include trauma-related stress symptoms, self-efficacy, communication skills, and social support mediate the intervention’s effects on outcomes. This information addresses the theoretical question of why the intervention works.

Condition	Intervention	Phase
HIV PTSD	Behavioral: HIV Skills-based Prevention	Phase 1 Phase 2


Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Allocation: Randomized Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment Masking: Open Label Primary Purpose: Prevention
Official Title:	Reducing Risk and Trauma-Related Stress in Persons Living With HIV

Resource links provided by NLM:

MedlinePlus related topics: Anxiety HIV/AIDS Wounds and Injuries

U.S. FDA Resources

Further study details as provided by Stanford University:

Primary Outcome Measures:

To determine if decreasing trauma-related stress symptoms improves HIV risk reduction behavior above a standard HIV risk reduction intervention alone post-intervention and 3 months after the small group intervention sessions

Secondary Outcome Measures:

To determine whether key variables moderate the intervention’s effects. For instance, gender, age, ethnicity, or psychological distress (e.g., depression, anxiety) may interact with the intervention to affect risky sexual or drug-related behavior.
To determine whether there is evidence that the theoretical mediator variables, which include trauma-related stress symptoms, self-efficacy, communication skills, and social support mediate the intervention’s effects on outcomes. This information will


Estimated Enrollment:	102
Study Start Date:	April 2003
Estimated Study Completion Date:	March 2004

Detailed Description:

There are no published longitudinal studies examining the impact of traumatic events on risk behavior among HIV-positive men and women. As a result, we know very little about how stress, particularly trauma-related stress, influences HIV risk behavior. This study will be one of the first randomized studies to examine the efficacy of reducing HIV risk behavior by combining a trauma-focused stress reduction intervention with a standard HIV prevention skills intervention. This study is specifically targeting a low-income, urban population, a group that experiences a disproportionate rate of crime as well as HIV infection. Findings of the research will likely provide information on the relationship between trauma and risk behavior. Furthermore, this research can identify key issues related to stress, psychosocial factors, and overall health that will be relevant to investigate in future, larger-scale studies of HIV-positive as well as HIV-negative populations.

Individuals who reported living with HIV, engaging in HIV risk behavior in the past 3 months, experiencing a traumatic stressor and trauma-related symptoms in the past 3 months were assigned to one of three conditions: 1) standard HIV prevention skills; 2) standard HIV prevention skills + trauma-focused stress reduction skills training; or 3) trauma-focused stress reduction skills training.

Eligibility


Ages Eligible for Study:	18 Years to 70 Years
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

must be 18 years or older, must be HIV-positive
report engaging in behavior that could put them at risk for HIV transmission during the past 3 months
report experiencing one or more trauma-related symptoms (i.e., reexperiencing, hyperarousal, or avoidance) occurring within the past three months.

Exclusion Criteria:

experience psychological symptoms or substance use problems so severe that it would impair their ability or the ability of others to participate in a group intervention

Contacts and Locations

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00186030

Locations


United States, Wisconsin
Center for AIDS Intervention Research (CAIR)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 53202

Sponsors and Collaborators

Stanford University

Investigators


Principal Investigator:	Cheryl Gore-Felton, PhD	Stanford University

More Information

No publications provided


ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00186030 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	5R03MH063643-02
Study First Received:	September 13, 2005
Last Updated:	October 5, 2006
Health Authority:	United States: Institutional Review Board

Keywords provided by Stanford University:


HIV AIDS PTSD Prevention

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on February 25, 2015