A Comprehensive Approach to Secondary HIV Prevention and Care Among Positives

The primary objective of this funded research is to conduct an HIV prevention intervention to train HIV seropositive drug users to be peer health educators to: (1) recruit their high risk social network members for voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT) at the research clinic, (2) promote risk reduction among social network members, and (3) promote engagement in HIV care by encouraging HIV seropositive network members to schedule and keep HIV primary care appointments. There will be four types of participants in the Full Trial: 1) Index, 2) Testing Network 3) Longitudinal Network and 4) HIV positive network participants. This longitudinal study includes baseline, 6-months, and 12-month assessments

Inclusion criteria

Index

• 18 years old or older
• documentation of HIV positive status
• report one of following risk behaviors in past 90 days: sharing injection equipment, use of crack cocaine, or unprotected vaginal or anal sex

Testing network

• 18 or older
• provided testing coupon provided by an index participant

Longitudinal network participant-

• tested HIV negative at the Lighthouse via redeeming a testing coupon
• reported interacting with index who gave the coupon at least weekly
• report one of following risk behaviors in the prior 90 days: sharing injection equipment, use of crack cocaine, or unprotected vaginal or anal sex

Positive Networks

• HIV positive
• report one of following risk behaviors in the prior 90 days: sharing injection equipment, use of crack cocaine, or unprotected vaginal or anal sex

Exclusion criteria

Index- already enrolled in the study as a Network participant

Testing network- already enrolled in the study as a Network participant

Longitudinal network- a) already enrolled in the study as a Network participant b) already enrolled in the study as a Index participant

Positive network- a) already enrolled in the study as a Network participant b) already enrolled in the study as a Index participant