Compared to other races/ethnicities, African Americans with HIV have lower levels of engagement in care, are less likely to be on antiretroviral treatment (ART), and are more likely to delay care and ART initiation;those on ART are less likely to be adherent at high enough levels for the treatment to be effective. We propose to test an innovative, culturally relevant treatment advocacy (TA) intervention for African Americans with HIV that targets social and cultural issues contributing to poor HIV treatment behaviors. TA, which has been sustained in many community organizations throughout the HIV epidemic, has never been systematically evaluated. TA facilitates patient navigation through the medical system and provides tailored HIV treatment education and client-centered counseling to improve adherence and engagement in care. TA targets social and contextual issues in healthcare and patients'lives by advocating to providers to improve patient-provider relationships, recommending changes in treatment and/or providers (if needed), and referring patients to mental health and social services. TA is particularly appropriate for African Americans with HIV, who may be mistrustful of providers: it can be conducted outside of the medical system in a safe, neutral community setting by individuals not associated with patients'healthcare. We developed a culturally relevant TA program that additionally discusses factors such as racism that undermine healthcare in Black communities, by acknowledging and directly addressing patients'medical mistrust and stigma as coping strategies that arise in response to oppression.
The specific aims are to (1) conduct a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of a culturally relevant TA program on adherence among African Americans with HIV;(2) identify culturally relevant mediators that explain the effects of treatment advocacy on antiretroviral treatment adherence among African Americans with HIV (e.g., improved behavioral adherence skills, coping with stress/discrimination, mental health, and patient satisfaction;lower levels of HIV misconceptions, internalized HIV stigma/homophobia, medical mistrust, and substance use);and (3) explore culturally relevant moderators of the effects of treatment advocacy on antiretroviral treatment adherence among African Americans with HIV (e.g., discrimination, incarceration, poverty, social support, spirituality, trauma). A sample of 200 African Americans with HIV will be randomly assigned to a TA intervention or wait-list control group. Participants will complete surveys at screening, and at 3- and 6-months post-baseline, to assess pre-, intra-, and post- intervention effects on adherence.

Public Health Relevance

African Americans with HIV have lower levels of engagement in care and treatment adherence than do Whites with HIV, and the predictors of these behaviors differ by race/ethnicity;however, few culturally relevant interventions have been tested. We propose to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an innovative, culturally relevant treatment advocacy (TA) intervention for African Americans with HIV that targets cultural and social issues contributing to health disparities. TA, which has been sustained in communities throughout the HIV epidemic but never been rigorously tested, facilitates medical system navigation and adherence through client-centered counseling and education;advocacy to providers;and referrals for social services.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MD006058-03
Application #
8402555
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZMD1-MLS (01))
Program Officer
Alvidrez, Jennifer L
Project Start
2011-05-01
Project End
2015-12-31
Budget Start
2013-01-01
Budget End
2013-12-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$347,833
Indirect Cost
$48,513
Name
Children's Hospital Boston
Department
Type
DUNS #
076593722
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Storholm, Erik D; Bogart, Laura M; Mutchler, Matt G et al. (2018) Antiretroviral Adherence Trajectories Among Black Americans Living with HIV. AIDS Behav :
Bogart, Laura M; Mutchler, Matt G; McDavitt, Bryce et al. (2017) A Randomized Controlled Trial of Rise, a Community-Based Culturally Congruent Adherence Intervention for Black Americans Living with HIV. Ann Behav Med 51:868-878
McDavitt, Bryce; Bogart, Laura M; Mutchler, Matt G et al. (2016) Dissemination as Dialogue: Building Trust and Sharing Research Findings Through Community Engagement. Prev Chronic Dis 13:E38
Wagner, Glenn J; Bogart, Laura M; Mutchler, Matt G et al. (2016) Increasing Antiretroviral Adherence for HIV-Positive African Americans (Project Rise): A Treatment Education Intervention Protocol. JMIR Res Protoc 5:e45
Earnshaw, Valerie A; Bogart, Laura M; Dovidio, John F et al. (2013) Stigma and racial/ethnic HIV disparities: moving toward resilience. Am Psychol 68:225-36
Bogart, Laura M; Wagner, Glenn J; Mutchler, Matt G et al. (2012) Community HIV treatment advocacy programs may support treatment adherence. AIDS Educ Prev 24:1-14
Mutchler, Matt G; Wagner, Glenn; Cowgill, Burt O et al. (2011) Improving HIV/AIDS care through treatment advocacy: going beyond client education to empowerment by facilitating client-provider relationships. AIDS Care 23:79-90