HIV RISK ASSESSMENT - A VIDEO DOCTOR SEEKS PATIENT DISCLOSURE

We assessed the influence of a ''video doctor's'' affective communicat ion style (warm vs. neutral) and of a preamble to questions about sexu al activity on patients' disclosure of risky sexual behavior and injec table drug use. To isolate the effects of the independent variables, w e created an interactive multimedia program for HIV risk assessment us ing a video doctor portrayed by an actor. Participants were assigned t o one of four conditions: no preamble and a neutral physician, no prea mble and a warm physician, a preamble and a neutral physician, or a pr eamble and a warm physician. Almost 60% of a convenience sample of 393 subjects reported engaging in two or more risky behaviors. Disclosure of risky behaviors was not significantly affected by the preamble. A warm communication style elicited more disclosure than a neutral style , suggesting that physicians' communication style is important in dete rmining how much sensitive information patients are willing to reveal.