Improving Provider Counseling Interventions in HIV Practice

Hypothesis: HIV clinicians trained to deliver brief counseling messages and receiving cues from a brief computer survey on risk behaviors of their patients can counsel have an impact on patient's risk behaviors.

This is a randomized controlled study. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the cue sheet as an aid to targeted provider behavioral counseling. All enrolled participants are HIV+ adults seen for regular medical care at a site affiliated with the Johns Hopkins AIDS Service. After consenting, participants will take an audio-assisted computer interviews to collect patient risk assessment data. For participants randomized to the intervention arm, the printed output on risk behaviors is then given to the provider along with cues for staged-based counseling for use during the same visit. Participants in the control arm take the same computerized risk assessment but there are no printed cue sheets. Risk behaviors of all participants are assessed at entry, at 6 months, and at 12 months. The main outcome measure is change in HIV transmission behaviors at 12 months for those in the intervention arm compared to the control arm.