Self-monitoring found to reduce high-risk behavior in HIV-positive people

A new study released by the University of California, Los Angeles's AIDS Institute has found that self-monitoring is an effective way to reduce high-risk behavior in people living with HIV or AIDS.

Having patients answer questions about their sexual behavior while waiting for their regular medical examinations causes people living with HIV to reexamine--and take steps to change--their behavior, researchers say. The study is published in the July issue of the medical journal AIDS Care.

The questions cast light on subjects patients had not previously considered, explained lead study author Marguerita Lightfoot, an associate research psychologist at UCLA. “In other studies we often heard participants say, ‘Oh, I never really thought about my behavior like that’ when they completed study assessments,” she said in a press release from the institute. “It appeared that by completing the self-assessments, people reflected on their own behavior and changed their behavior. It’s very easy to implement and very cost-effective.”

The researchers studied 365 people living with HIV who were recruited from community health clinics and other organizations. They ranged in age ranging from 19 to 69. More than half were part of a ethnic minority.

While waiting for their scheduled appointments, participants were taken to a private room where they filled out questionnaires about their sexual behavior. Questions addressed a number of topics, including the number of sexual partners they have, the sexual acts they regularly perform, and how often they use condoms.

The study found that the more self-assessments the patient completed, the higher the odds were that they used condoms with HIV-negative partners or people whose status was unknown at the time. Researchers also found that sexual activity decreased over time as patients became more aware of their behavior.

“Consequently, it appears that allowing PLH (people living with HIV) to reflect on their sexual behavior influences their subsequent decisions regarding sexual behavior,” the researchers wrote in the press release. “It is likely that by having the patients acknowledge and report, in a nonconfrontive and nonjudgmental manner, those behaviors that could result in transmission of HIV, their motivation to reduce HIV-transmission-related behavior increased and their attitudes became more conducive to reducing risk behaviors."

The press release concluded that “self-assessments appear to be a promising avenue for promoting behavior change in a setting which PLH regularly interface.” (The Advocate)