2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

321078
An Evaluation of WILLOW: A CDC-funded HIV Prevention Behavioral Intervention Designed for Women Living with HIV


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Tanesha Griffin, MPH, BSN, RN, NCHHSTP/DHAP/Program Evaluation Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Weston Williams, MHS, Evidence-based Decision and Policy Making Group, Manila Consulting Group, Inc., Palmetto Bay, FL
Gary Uhl, PhD, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention; Program Evaluation Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
background:  Women Involved in Life Learning from Other Women (WILLOW) is a four-session small-group intervention that targets heterosexual women aged 18-50 who have known their HIV-positive status for at least six months. In 2010, CDC funded CBOs to conduct outcome monitoring of WILLOW to determine if women living with HIV who participate in the intervention report changes in HIV knowledge, attitudes, beliefs (KAB), HIV risk behaviors, and self-reported medication adherence post- intervention.  

methods: Participants enrolled in WILLOW at four CBOs were recruited to participate in this evaluation from November 1, 2011 to June 30, 2014.  Using a repeated measures design, risk behaviors were collected at baseline, and again at three and six months post-intervention. Changes in HIV KAB, HIV risk behaviors, and self-reported medication adherence were assessed in unadjusted models using generalized estimating equations.

results: Participants (n=1,038) reported reduced prevalence of risk behaviors and improvements in HIV KAB, HIV risk behaviors, and self-reported medication adherence after participation in WILLOW.  For example, more individuals reported adherence to medication directives (PR=1.03 at follow-up 1 and 2, p<.05), and a lower prevalence of having sex with a male whose HIV status is unknown (PR=0.68 and 0.67 at follow-ups 1 and 2, p<.05). 

conclusion: WILLOW, when delivered in a real-world setting, can be associated with reduction in HIV risk behaviors, improvements in HIV KAB, and increased medication adherence.  These changes were sustained through six months post-intervention. Results suggest that WILLOW is an effective tool for reducing HIV risk behaviors in this critical target population.  

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs

Learning Objectives:
Describe how community-based organizations implemented a nationally disseminated behavioral intervention to a population at high risk for HIV transmission. Compare clients’ self-reported HIV risk before and after participating in a behavioral intervention

Keyword(s): HIV Interventions, CDC

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: For the last four and a half years, I have served as the principal of a federally funded cooperative agreement focusing on the evaluation of a HIV prevention intervention targeted at women living with HIV. I also have four years of experience as the co-principal of multiple federally funded grants focusing on HIV prevention. Among my scientific interests has been the evaluation of HIV prevention programs among high risk populations.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4279.0: People Living With HIV/AIDS