| Introduction: | The purpose of SHAST is to investigate an HIV prevention program with HIV+ patients. Participants are HIV+ clients at the Mount Sinai Outpatient Infectious Diseases Clinic. Approximately 250 people will be randomized in equal numbers into an intervention group and a comparison group. Participants will be followed every 3 months for a year. The 12-month behavioral intervention (Treatment Advocacy Program; TAP) was originally designed by Dr. David J. McKirnan of the University of Illinois at Chicago / Howard Brown Health Center. The Sinai Treatment Advocacy Program (Sinai TAP) was tailored specifically to meet the needs of our clinic patients. Community consumers and HIV experts played an important role in the development of the Sinai TAP. Delivered via computer-assisted technology, the Sinai TAP includes multiple individual education sessions with an HIV+ Peer Educator. The Sinai TAP includes information on medication adherence, sexual safety, mood management, HIV communication, and management of drug and alcohol use. |
