Table 3.
| Sample intervention shown to participants
| Module | Description of topics covered in each step |
|---|---|
| Step 1: Education & Introduction | • The role medication plays in successful treatment of HIV • Increase your knowledge about HIV and medications • Increase your confidence to properly take your medications • Learn ways to help problem-solve situations that make it difficult to take your medications. |
| Step 2: Transportation to Appointments | • Resolutions and problem-solving transportation issues • Provides examples of ways to increase the chances of remembering appointments and medications |
| Step 3: Obtaining Medications | • Develop a plan for continuing to get your medication • Privacy and confidentiality concerns when talking to the pharmacist or other healthcare providers |
| Step 4: Communicating with Health Care Providers | • Techniques and strategies to help make you more comfortable with asking health care providers’ questions. |
| Step 5: Coping with Side-Effects | • Develop a treatment schedule for taking medications with the help of your doctor
to minimize side effects • Rethink the meaning of side effects (e.g., medications are in your bloodstream and working) • Discuss the importance of taking medications despite the side effects |
| Step 6: Formulating a Daily Medication Schedule | • Create a detailed schedule of an average day of pill-taking • Consider things such as where you are and what you are doing at different times • Create reminders to take your medications throughout the day based on your schedule |
| Step 7: Storing Medications | • Safe and proper medication storage for when you are not at home. |
| Step 8: Cues for Pill-Taking | • Provided colored adhesive dots that act as reminders for you to take your
medications. • Where to place colored adhesive dots • Other reminders (e.g., alarms and different ways of thinking about taking medications) |
| Step 9: Response to Slips in Adherence | • Dealing with slips and forgetting to take your medications • How to avoid ways of thinking that can impact your adherence |
| Step 10: Review | • Review earlier steps through a short 10-question quiz • Provided correct answers for any questions answered incorrectly |
| HIV Beliefs | • Beliefs and myths that some people have about HIV and medications |
| Encouragement | • Strategies for staying motivated to meet your goals for taking medications |
| Problem Solving | • Problem-solving skills regarding HIV and medications |
| Social Support | • Strengthen the support you get from people around you |
| Self-Awareness | • Skills to feel confident that you can do what your doctors recommend |
| Coping with Stress | • Stress reduction, and ways to relax and not worry so much |
| Depression | • Dealing with sadness and depression |
| Alcohol and Drugs | • How alcohol and drug use impacts HIV medications and ways to reduce use |