Healthy Living Project for People Living With HIV

The Healthy Living Project for People Living With HIV promotes protective health decision-making among individuals with HIV--heterosexual women, heterosexual men, gay men, and injection drug users--to reduce substance use and the risk of transmitting HIV. The Healthy Living Project is based on social action theory and targets the interactive psychosocial domains of the community environment, internal affective states, and self-regulation. Using a cognitive-behavioral approach, this manual-driven intervention is delivered by facilitators functioning as "life coaches" who work with clients individually to help them make changes in their health behavior, become active participants in their ongoing medical care, and achieve desired personal goals. The Healthy Living Project consists of 15 sessions, each 90 minutes in duration, presented in 3 modules: Stress, Coping, and Adjustment; Safer Behaviors; and Health Behaviors. During tailored counseling sessions, the client is encouraged to identify a life project and work with the coach to set attainable goals and build self- confidence, self-esteem, and motivation to increase protective health behaviors. Intervention strategies include psychosocial education, skills building to improve coping, and problem-solving training involving role-play exercises.