The prevention of AIDS: Roles for behavioral intervention

AIDS education for patients with chronic mental illness

Despite the AIDS epidemic's impact, development of prevention and risk-reduction programs has been slow, especially for patients with chronic mental illness. These patients may be at particular risk for HIV transmission and acquisition due to characteristics of their illness. Despite a paucity of such program descriptions in the literature and widespread concern that exposure of such patients to educational material related to sexuality or AIDS would be overstimulating, an effective and safe curriculum to teach risk-reduction can be designed. This paper describes such a program at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, in Boston.

An objective test of AIDS risk behavior knowledge: scale development, validation, and norms

Efforts to curtail the spread of AIDS emphasize changing risk practices. An objective measure of practical knowledge about AIDS risk behaviors can permit the more accurate assessment of the impact of such prevention programs. This paper describes the construction of a standardized 40-item test of AIDS risk behavior knowledge and presents data on the validity, reliability, and psychometric characteristics of the measure in addition to norms for several populations. Knowledge scores of risk behavior may serve as a useful dependent measure when evaluating the impact of applied or experimental AIDS prevention programs, especially with groups at potential risk for the syndrome.

Community mental health's role in the AIDS crisis

Mental Health concomitants of the AIDS crisis are reviewed along with recommendations for a community mental health response. Proposed interventions range from traditional clinical services to support groups, case management, day treatment, training of caregivers, outreach, consultation, and community education. It is recommended that, at the very least, each community mental health center identify an AIDS specialist who will keep abreast of the rapidly changing information and become the in-house expert. The author predicts that AIDS is likely to become the major mental health problem of the next decade.