Prevention Options for Positives: The Effects of a Health Communication Intervention for Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV/AIDS

Abstract

This article reports the results of a small-scale quasi-experiment that tested the efficacy of the Prevention Options for Positives intervention. The experiment tested for the outcomes of group sessions combined with individual-level counseling (ILC) versus ILC-only for men who have sex with men who are HIV positive. Both arms of the intervention were based on behavior change theory and dealt specifically with communication outcomes. The results indicate that the group- and individual-level interventions combined have a greater impact on risk communication behaviors with main partners than did the ILC-only sessions. group-session/ILC participants were more likely to decide not to have sex if they were drunk or high, and more likely to tell their partner and ask their partner about HIV status than were participants in the ILC groups. Knowledge about HIV was relatively high, and there was little change across groups. The Prevention Options for Positives intervention influenced the relative importance of various referent groups, but normative beliefs were not affected. The implications of these findings for communication practice and research with HIV-positive men who have sex with men are addressed.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors acknowledge the help of our participants, the State of Michigan's People Living With HIV or AIDS Task Force; staff from Men of Color; Community Health Awareness Group; Lansing Area AIDS Network; and the HIV/AIDS Resource Center for their assistance with this project.

Notes

¹Other studies identified in the B. T. Johnson et al (2006) meta-analysis contained HIV-positive MSM in their sample but did not specifically target them with the intervention or did not contain data appropriate for meta-analysis.

²To be included in these analyses, GLS/ILC participants must have completed at least five of the six group sessions and two of three individual-level prevention counseling sessions. ILC participants must have completed two of the three counseling sessions. Only persons who self-reported as being diagnosed for 2 years or longer were included in the intervention because of evidence that risk reduction behaviors vary post diagnosis and may stabilize over time. (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2000)

³Because of the small sample size, all significance tests should be considered with the caveat that statistical significance is highly dependent on this factor.