Partnership for Health: A Brief Safer Sex Intervention for HIV Outpatient Clinics

Partnership for Health (PfH) is an evidence based intervention that has been shown to be effective in reducing unsafe sex among HIV-positive patients who have multiple and casual partners. Through PfH, health care providers and staff in HIV outpatient clinics learn how to talk more effectively with patients about safer sex and disclosure skills. The intervention specifically addresses sexual behavior and not substance use behavior. The counseling is brief but repeated at subsequent clinic appointments and can therefore be easily incorporated into busy HIV clinic schedules and routine clinical practice.

Goals of PfH

• To improve patient and provider communication about safer sex and disclosure 
• To incorporate patient and provider discussions about HIV prevention as a standard of care in HIV clinics.

Training Program

PfH provides comprehensive training and materials for providers, clinics and their HIV-positive patients. The intervention has been rigorously tested with medical providers in clinical settings but can be modified for use by other HIV care providers, such as case managers.

Clinic Training

Clinic providers and staff receive a 4 ½ hour interactive training that uses a variety of teaching modalities, video and role plays to demonstrate how the brief counseling can be used with patients who engage in high risk sexual behaviors as well as those who engage in lower risk sexual behaviors. An additional 1 ½ hour booster training session is conducted approximately six weeks after the clinic initiates the intervention.

Training of Trainers

An intensive PfH training of trainers program is available for experienced trainers, educators and AETC-affiliated faculty. For more information about this program and to obtain schedule of classes, contact Dr. Jean L. Richardson at jeanr@usc.edu or Dr. Miriam Phields at MPhields@cdc.gov.

Partnership for Health was developed through the research of Jean L. Richardson, DrPH, Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in collaboration with the Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center at USC, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Original research was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health with further field testing completed through the CDC Replicating Effective Programs and Advancing HIV Prevention initiatives. For additional related research, please see the PfH website.

For More Information:

PfH Research»

PfH Intervention»

PfH Patient Risk Indicators»

PfH Website»

CDC Replicating Effective Programs»

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