title: Increasing Antiretroviral Adherence for HIV-Positive African Americans (Project Rise): A Treatment Education Intervention Protocol.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  HIV-positive African Americans have been shown to have lower adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) than those of other races/ethnicities, yet adherence interventions have rarely been tailored to the needs of this population.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We developed and will evaluate a treatment education adherence intervention (called Rise) that was culturally adapted to address the needs of African Americans living with HIV.
  
  
  METHODS
  This randomized controlled trial will examine the effects of the Rise intervention on ART adherence and HIV viral load. African Americans on ART who report adherence problems will be recruited from the community and randomly assigned to receive the intervention or usual care for 6 months. The intervention consists of 6-10 individual counseling sessions, with more sessions provided to those who demonstrate lower adherence. Primary outcomes include adherence as monitored continuously with Medication Event Monitoring Systems (MEMS) caps, and viral load data received from the participant's medical provider. Survey assessments will be administered at baseline and month 6.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The trial is ongoing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  If effective, the Rise intervention will provide community-based organizations with an intervention tailored to address the needs of African Americans for promoting optimal ART adherence and HIV clinical outcomes.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01350544; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01350544 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6fjqqnmn0).
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Health Unit, Santa Monica, CA, United States. gwagner@rand.org.
authors.forename: Glenn J
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9081-3299
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3182-5542
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bogart
authors.forename: Matt G
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2510-0262
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Mutchler
authors.forename: Bryce
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5767-0599
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McDavitt
authors.forename: Kieta D
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5297-0349
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Mutepfa
authors.forename: Brian
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8682-7583
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Risley
keywords: African Americans; HIV; adherence; antiretroviral treatment; intervention; patient compliance; treatment education