“In this thing I have everything I need”: perceived acceptability of a brief alcohol-focused intervention for people living with HIV

Abstract

Although hazardous/harmful alcohol use impacts response to HIV treatment, there have been few attempts to deliver alcohol-reduction interventions within South African HIV treatment services. As a first step towards implementing alcohol-focused interventions in these settings, we explored patients' views of the acceptability of a brief motivational interviewing and problem-solving intervention. In-depth interviews were conducted with 11 patients recruited from three HIV treatment sites in Tshwane, South Africa, who had completed the intervention. Participants noted that the intervention was acceptable and appropriate. As a result of the intervention, participants reported less use of alcohol as a coping mechanism. They described greater use of problem-focused and emotional coping strategies for dealing with mutable and immutable problems, respectively. Their only recommendation for improving the intervention was the addition of booster sessions. Findings suggest that this intervention is acceptable to patients receiving HIV treatment and is perceived to be helpful for reducing their use of alcohol.

Young South African Women on Antiretroviral Therapy Perceptions of a Psychological Counselling Program to Reduce Heavy Drinking and Depression

“…This finding is in keeping with earlier South African studies that have shown high rates of substance use coping among South African women with histories of psychological trauma related to experiences of physical and sexual abuse [35]. It adds to what is already known by highlighting how receipt of an HIV diagnosis is often traumatic and how young women's ability to accept and cope with this life-changing diagnosis is often constrained by adverse social circumstances and experiences of stigma [25,36]. This extends what we know about the need to strengthen the coping strategies of PLWH who drink to improve adherence to ART [25,37] by focusing on the role that trauma and environmental factors play in women's drinking and feelings of depression.…”

“…While this intervention has been tested in other patient populations who use substances in South Africa [25][26][27], little is known about the extent to which young South African women on ART perceive the MI-PST interventions as acceptable and beneficial for addressing both alcohol use and depression. Understanding young women's perceptions and experiences of these interventions could identify modifications to the intervention content or delivery mechanisms that are needed to better meet young women's psycho-social needs and intervention preferences [28].…”

Alcohol misuse, risky sexual behaviors, and HIV or syphilis infections among Chinese men who have sex with men

“…Excessive alcohol consumption is a challenge to the integrity of the HIV care continuum (Myers et al, 2016). Binge and hazardous drinking Chinese MSM are especially at elevated risk of illicit drug use, sexual behaviors and HIV infection, emphasizing future policy establishment to target these specific subgroups for alcohol-related risk reduction strategies.…”

Adapting a peer recovery coach-delivered behavioral activation intervention for problematic substance use in a medically underserved community in Baltimore City

“…As such, BA has specific promise for delivery by PRCs within a recovery support context. Yet, despite empirical support for positive effects of BA on substance use treatment outcomes [41,42], and evidence to support acceptability for peer or lay counselor-delivery in low-and middle-income countries [27,39,[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51], to date, there has been little research to develop or adapt PRC-delivered BA for problematic substance use in underserved settings in the US.…”