EFFECTS OF AIDS COUNSELING AND RISK REDUCTION TRAINING ON THE CHRONIC-MENTALLY-ILL

The chronic mentally ill are a high-risk group for HIV infection. In t his study 27 chronic mentally ill psychiatric outpatients were randoml y assigned to either an AIDS education and risk reduction training gro up or to a no-treatment control group. Training was conducted during f our 2-hour group meetings that were scheduled over 4 days. Treated pat ients were instructed on modes of HIV transmission and high-risk group s and practices. They were instructed on the importance of using condo ms and also taught problem-solving and refusal skills to cope with hig h-risk sexual and drug and alcohol situations. Assessments were made i mmediately before and after training as well as during a 2-week follow -up. Participants who received training showed significant improvement in their knowledge about AIDS, their confidence to deal with highrisk situations, and on behavioral measures of coping in high-risk situati ons. No such improvement was noted in the control group. There was als o evidence of maintenance over the 2-week follow-up. Although the magn itude of change was small, the results of the study are encouraging co nsidering the brevity of treatment, the high degree of risk and diffic ulty faced with this patient population, and the fact that even a smal l amount of behavior change can make the difference between encounteri ng and avoiding the HIV virus.