An exploratory behavioral intervention trial to improve rates of screening for AIDS clinical trials among racial/ethnic minority and female persons living with HIV/AIDS.
Individuals from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds and women have not been proportionately represented in AIDS clinical trials (ACTs). There have been few intervention efforts to eliminate this health disparity. This paper reports on a brief behavioral intervention to increase rates of screening for ACTs in these groups. The study was exploratory and used a single-group pre/posttest design. A total of 580 persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) were recruited (39% female; 56% African-American, 32% Latino/Hispanic). The intervention was efficacious: 25% attended screening. We identified the primary junctures where PLHA are lost in the screening process. Both group intervention sessions and an individual contact were associated with screening. Findings provide preliminary support for the intervention's efficacy and the utility of combining group and individual intervention formats. Interventions of greater duration and intensity, and which address multiple levels of influence (e.g., social, structural), may be needed to increase screening rates further.
Gwadz
Marya Viorst
MV
Center for Drug Use and HIV Research (CDUHR), National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. (NDRI), 71 W 23 Street, New York, NY 10010, USA. gwadz@ndri.org
Cylar
Keith
K
Leonard
Noelle R
NR
Riedel
Marion
M
Herzog
Nina
N
Arredondo
Gricel N
GN
Cleland
Charles M
CM
Aguirre
Michael
M
Marshak
Ann
A
Mildvan
Donna
D