Introduction to the Special Supplement: Prevention With Persons Living With HIV

Abstract

Welcome to this special supplement to AIDS Education and Prevention entitled “Prevention With Persons Living With HIV.” Those of us in the public and private sectors, ranging from the federal government to the university and community–based organizations, remain as partners in the ongoing struggle against HIV and AIDS. This supplement is intended as a resource for persons who design, implement, manage, and evaluate HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs with HIV–infected persons. This is essential work in the struggle against HIV and AIDS. The release of this publication is timely. In the current world of HIV/AIDS prevention, such diverse entities as grassroots organizations, primary care clinics, community-planning groups, and State health departments have devoted increased resources to “prevention with persons living with HIV.” Why are efforts to prevent persons with HIV from transmitting the virus to others receiving increased attention? Are interventions for persons living with HIV effective? Does the effectiveness of prevention programs vary by program setting or target population? What are the prevention community’s challenges in planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating these interventions? The introductory discussion and articles that follow address these questions with the presentation of both quantitative and qualitative findings from individualand group-level interventions for HIV–infected persons. Interventions for men and women, ranging from black non–gay-identified men who have sex with men to female injection drug users, are presented and real-world implementation and evaluation challenges in community–based settings are discussed. Suggestions for addressing these challenges are also presented.