A low-cost, sustainable intervention for drinking reduction in the HIV primary care setting

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Science
• Infectious Disease Research

Background:

• Excessive alcohol consumption presents significant health risks for individuals living with HIV.
• Existing interventions have not specifically targeted drinking reduction in HIV primary care settings.
• Interventions in this context must be resource-efficient and minimally demanding for healthcare staff.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot a novel intervention for reducing alcohol consumption in HIV-infected patients within a primary care setting.
• To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of combining brief Motivational Interviewing (MI) with an automated telephone self-monitoring system (HealthCall).

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving 31 HIV primary care patients.
• Intervention included a 30-minute session of brief Motivational Interviewing (MI).
• Participants used the HealthCall system (Interactive Voice Response - IVR) for daily self-monitoring of alcohol intake and received graphical feedback after 30 days.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant reduction in alcohol consumption was observed over time.
• This reduction was evident in both daily IVR self-reports (p=.03) and 60-day follow-up interviews (p=.02).
• High engagement with the daily IVR calls demonstrated the intervention's feasibility.

Conclusions:

• The HealthCall intervention is acceptable to a disadvantaged HIV patient population.
• Preliminary data suggest the efficacy of this combined MI and HealthCall intervention in reducing harmful drinking among HIV primary care patients.
• This approach offers a promising, low-demand strategy for addressing alcohol use in HIV care.