PATH Project: A Randomized Controlled Trial Preparing Patients to Start Antiretroviral Therapy

The purpose of The PATH Project is to develop and test an intervention to prepare HIV+ men and women who, based on current treatment guidelines, should be but are not currently taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). The immediate goal of the intervention is to address obstacles to ART uptake. The intervention is grounded in the Information, Motivation, and Behavioral Skills (IMB) Model and will consist of:

• One-on-one session.
• Small group workshop led by cross-disciplinary experts and peers.
• Follow-up one-on-one session.
• Booster session provided either at 6 months if a participant has not initiated ART, and/or at the first. sign of initiating ART.

We will enroll 300 HIV+ men and women in the San Francisco and the East Bay with CD4 counts at or less than 350 who are not on ART. Participants will be assessed at baseline and at three, six and 12 months post randomization. Psychological and behavioral variables will be assessed via computerized (ACASI/CAPI) interviews.