Causal evaluation of impact of support workshop for HIV+ men

A program logic model was used to design and evaluate a support workshop for men infected with HIV. The model identified three proximal outcomes leading to the ultimate goal of motivating participants to initiate ongoing support relationships. Path analysis was used to evaluate the workshop. The findings indicated the most important motivator to initiating ongoing support was the awareness among participants of the need to talk about their HIV status and risk of transmission and their feeling capable to do so. The proximal outcomes which contributed to this impact were: recognition of their own needs from listening to testimonials by others, developing awareness and skills by engaging in role plays, and learning options for discussion by participating in a sexual issues group. The workshop findings demonstrated the benefits of developing a pre-program logic model and using causal evaluation to understand factors determining impact.