A New Study By Hunter Professor Jeffrey Parsons Zeros In On HIV Medication Adherence and Alcohol Usage
Date: October 4, 2002
Contact: Marisa Osorio (marisa.osorio@hunter.cuny.edu)
Phone: (212) 650-3736
Medication resistant HIV is emerging as the greatest challenge to patients trying to keep their virus at bay. Research shows that near perfect medication adherence is required to prevent viral mutation among persons living with HIV. Unfortunately, alcohol usage is a major barrier to medication adherence for many men and women on highly active anti-retroviral treatment or HAART.
In a new study, investigators at Hunter College and The Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST) are testing a therapeutic approach aimed at helping men and women with alcohol problems maintain adherence to their HIV treatment regimens and, at the same time, reduce their use of alcohol. The study is called Project PLUS (Positive Living through Understanding and Support).
Participants will receive eight education or counseling sessions. The individual sessions are designed to improve adherence to HIV medications by increasing motivation and practical skill building, as well as helping clients make changes to their drinking behaviors.
"Many programs focus on abstinence from alcohol use, but the program we are testing takes a more 'harm reduction' perspective, where participants work with a counselor to achieve the goals that are right for them," said Jeffrey Parsons, the study's principal investigator, Hunter College psychology professor and CHEST co-director.
Project PLUS hopes to show the effectiveness of an approach that clinics and/or social service agencies can easily incorporate into their existing programs, because most clinics providing care to persons with HIV are stretched to their limits. "The idea is to test an intervention program that is sustainable, so that it can continue in the community if the research shows it to be effective in improving medication adherence," Parsons said. Investigators have begun recruiting 400 participants from HIV clinics and physician's offices throughout the New York City metropolitan area. Participants will be followed for one year after completing their sessions to monitor the effects of the intervention over time.
Project PLUS is funded by the National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). CHEST is a behavioral research center associated with Hunter College and New York University.
For more information on becoming a part of this project, call Project PLUS at 212-206-7919, ext. 232.
Hunter College, founded in 1870, has long enjoyed a national reputation for excellence in liberal arts and sciences and professional education. Hunter's main campus, located on 68th Street on Manhattan's Upper East Side, consists of the School of Arts and Sciences and School of Education. The college also includes a school of Social Work on East 79th Street as well as the Schools of the Health Professions (Nursing and Health Sciences) located at the Brookdale Health Science Center on East 25th Street; an MFA building and art gallery on the West Side; and the Hunter College Campus Schools serving gifted and talented students, preschool through grade 12.
-HC-