Study
Copenhaver, Lee, and Baldwin (2013) conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of the Community-Friendly Health Recovery Program (CHRP) intervention. All participants were provided with a description of the study (verbal and written) and were asked to sign an informed consent form prior to participation. To be eligible for the study, patients had to be at least 18 years of age; opioid-dependent and seeking methadone maintenance treatment; have reported drug- or sex-related HIV risk behavior in the past 6 months; able to read and understand questionnaires; available for the duration of the study; and not actively suicidal, homicidal, or psychotic.
The study participants were 304 HIV-negative opioid-dependent individuals in a community-based, methadone maintenance program. Participants were double blindly randomized to one of two groups: the CHRP intervention group (n=149) or the active control group (n=155). Approximately 48 percent of the study participants were male, and the median age was 33. About three quarters of the study participants (74.7 percent) were white (the other race/ethnicities were not reported). There were no significant differences at baseline between the intervention and control groups on demographics.
The intervention group received the CHRP, while the active control condition served as a time- and contact-matched support and orientation group for individuals entering the methadone maintenance program. They received information regarding methadone program services and policies, as well as general health care information related to opioid-dependent patients entering methadone therapy. All study participants continued to receive methadone maintenance treatment regardless of group assignment.
Data was collected from participants using an audio computer-assisted structured interview (ACASI) at the pre- and post-intervention periods, and at the 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up periods. An event-level, sex- and drug-related HIV risk behavior assessment was used to gather information on drug and sex risk-reduction skills and knowledge. Drug-risk behavior included items related to how participants used drugs, whether they used new or cleaned syringes (and if so, how they cleaned syringes), and whether they shared syringes. Sex-related behavior was assessed using items that asked whether participants used male or female condoms, and if not, whether it was due to abstinence from sexual activity. Participants were also asked about their drug- and sex-related HIV risk-reduction knowledge, personal and social motivation to reduce HIV risk behavior, and self-efficacy about reducing HIV risk behavior. A mixed-effects model was used to investigate the effects of the intervention on the outcomes.
