MEDICAL ADHERENCE AND COPING WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIV INFECTION

Grant Title: Development and Evaluation of Peer Support for Brooklyn-based HIV+ English-Speaking Caribbeans

Project Name: Caribbean Access Initiative (CAI)

Funding Source and Project Period: HRSA; 2003 - 2007

Collaborating Institutions and Key Personnel:

HIV Center:
Subcontract Principal Investigator: Susie Hoffman, Dr.P.H.
Project Director: Jessica Adams-Skinner, M.P.H.

Community HealthCare Network:
Principal Investigator: Yvette Walker, M.D.
Project Director: Tiphani Burrell, M.P.H.

STAR Program at SUNY Downstate Medical Center - Comparison Site:
Principal Investigator: Susan Holman, R.N., M.S.

Project Overview: This study is evaluating a Peer Support Intervention ( Caribbean Access Initiative) to promote enrollment in and use of primary HIV medical care for Brooklyn-based English-Speaking Caribbean immigrants living with HIV/AIDS. The Community HealthCare Network (CHN) is one of five national sites that has been funded through a Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA) Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) grant to develop and evaluate a Peer Support Intervention for Caribbean immigrants living with HIV/AIDS. The four other sites are located in NYC and Miami, and target Haitians, Dominicans, and English-speaking Caribbeans. Dr. Hoffman and team have a subcontract from CHN to evaluate the CHN program. The evaluation uses a quasi-experimental design to compare client outcomes at the CHN clinics (intervention) with those at a comparison site (the STAR Program at SUNY Downstate Medical Center). Participants are recruited at the intervention site to receive the peer intervention and at the comparison site to serve as standard-of-care comparison participants. The intervention consists of 6 sessions of a psycho-educational group and 12 individual sessions with a peer supported over a 6-month period. All participants are interviewed at baseline and at 3, 6, and 9 months post baseline to assess their use of regular primary care (major outcome) and to determine whether change has occurred in the hypothesized predictors of the outcome. Process evaluation will monitor program implementation, assess fidelity to program goals, and determine client satisfaction.

Publications and Presentation Abstracts:
None to date.

Update: 7/8/05