The Healthy Living Project: an individually tailored, multidimensional intervention for HIV-infected persons

Abstract

The NIMH Healthy Living Project (HLP), a randomized behavioral intervention trial for people living with HIV, enrolled 943 individuals, including women, heterosexual men, injection drug users, and men who have sex with men from Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York, and San Francisco. The intervention, which is based on qualitative formative research and Ewart's Social Action Theory, addresses three interrelated aspects of living with HIV: stress and coping, transmission risk behavior, and medication adherence. Fifteen 90-minute structured sessions, divided into 3 modules of five sessions each, are delivered to individuals. Sessions are tailored to individuals within a structure that uses role-plays, problem solving, and goal setting techniques. A 'Life Project'--or overarching goal related to personal striving-provides continuity throughout sessions. Because this is an ongoing project with efficacy yet to be established, we do not report intervention outcomes. However, the intervention was designed to be useful for prevention case management, settings where repeated one-on-one contact is possible, and where a structured but highly individualized intervention approach is desired.