Efficacy of a Computerized Stress Management Training Program for HIV+ Women

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overarching goal of the proposed research is to develop and pilot test a brief, computer-administered stress management training program for HIV+ women. HIV+ women represent a growing proportion of people living with HIV in the U.S. and experience disproportionate disease burden. Although HIV treatment advances have increased survival time and improved quality of life, HIV+ women continue to face a myriad of stressors that contribute to elevated rates of mental health difficulties and poor disease management. Previous stress management interventions for HIV+ individuals have primarily targeted men and have typically relied upon a multi-session group format, an approach that shows promise but is expensive and difficult to disseminate widely. To develop and pilot test a computerized stress management training program for HIV+ women, the proposed research will involve three phases. First, focus groups will be conducted with HIV+ women (n = 28) to assist in the development of intervention content and format. Second, a brief, interactive, computerized, educational stress management intervention will be designed based on the formative research, past empirical studies of stress and coping interventions with HIV+ individuals, and Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. Third, the intervention will be implemented in a sample of HIV+ female outpatients to provide preliminary data regarding the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of the program. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an immediate intervention (n = 30) or time-lagged intervention control (n = 30) group. We predict that the intervention will result in: (a) improved coping self-efficacy; (b) lower levels of perceived stress; (c) decreased use of avoidant coping strategies; and (d) a reduction in self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depressed mood. This study addresses an important public health priority. If shown to be feasible and efficacious, the use of a computerized stress management training program has the potential to improve HIV+ women's ability to cope with health and life stressors and could be widely disseminated for use in busy outpatient clinic settings. Ultimately, by improving stress management skills, the proposed intervention may contribute to improved disease management skills and better health outcomes among HIV+ women.