HIV Medication Adherence in Underserved Populations

Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) has proven extremely effective in the treatment of HIV
and AIDS, the ability to effectively combat the disease is inconsequential when individuals
do not take their medication as prescribed and do not attend their scheduled medical
appointments. Non-adherence to effective ART and medical visits is widespread in the United
States, especially among ethnic minorities. A recent study indicated that patients who miss
a medical appointment in the first year of an HIV diagnosis show over twice the mortality
rate of patients who attended all visits. This study is developed to investigate the
relationship between HIV Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND) and adherence to HIV
treatment among traditionally marginalized populations. Participants will be administered a
brief neuropsychiatric screener. Participants will be randomly enrolled one of two cognitive
rehabilitation programs so they may learn compensatory cognitive strategies to remain
treatment adherent, or they will be receive psychoeducation concerning the importance of
taking their medications and regularly attending medical appointments. Participants will be
tracked and followed-up with regarding their treatment adherence in regular intervals over
the course of 6 months.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Adult, age 18 and older.

- Able and willing to provide written informed consent.

- Diagnosed as HIV-seropositive by licensed enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA)
or HIV-seropositive by Western blot (WB).

- Diagnosed as HIV seropositive within the last two years.

- Willing and able to provide adequate information for locator purposes.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Under the age of 18.

- Have ever sustained a traumatic brain injury.

- Have an obvious psychological/psychiatric disorder that would invalidate the informed
consent process, or otherwise contraindicate participation in the study.

- Have a learning disability where they cannot read or write pass the third grade
level.

- Have an active substance dependence diagnosis.