Asha HIV Health Promotion Intervention

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Investigator: Maria Ekstrand, PhD
Sponsor: University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)

Location(s): India

Description

In this study, village women in India, living with HIV (WLH), along with researchers from the US, HIV and TB experts from the Indian Council for Medical Research and the AII India Institute of Medical Sciences will plan an intervention designed to support women who are receiving treatment and care for HIV and TB, and to help promote their adjustment to illness and improve their health as it relates to their coping and behavioral responses and physical health outcomes. This intervention, delivered by specially trained village women (ASHAs), will then be tested with WLH to assess how acceptable and effective the intervention might be compared to WLH who receive usual care. The women will be recruited from four villages which have high rates of HIV/AIDS in rural Andhra Pradesh (AP), India, where ASHAs are providing general health services. Two of the four selected villages will have ASHAs trained in the intervention strategies. The remaining two will be usual care. The investigators anticipate this three-year study will lead to a culturally tailored intervention that will be tested in a larger study.