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A Roadmap for Adapting an Evidence-Based HIV Prevention Intervention: Personal Cognitive Counseling (PCC) for Episodic Substance-Using Men Who Have Sex with Men

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Abstract

Episodic (less than weekly) drug use and binge drinking increase HIV-related sexual risk behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM), yet no evidence-based interventions exist for these men. We describe an adaptation process of the Personalized Cognitive Counseling (PCC) intervention for utilization with high-risk, HIV-negative episodic, substance-using MSM. Participants (N = 59) were racially diverse, and reported unprotected anal intercourse and concurrent binge drinking (85 %), use of poppers (36 %), methamphetamine (20 %) and cocaine (12 %). Semi-structured interviews with 20 episodic, substance-using MSM elicited sexual narratives for engaging in unprotected anal intercourse while using alcohol or drugs. Emergent qualitative themes were translated into self-justifications and included in a revised PCC self-justification elicitation instrument (SJEI). The adapted SJEI was pretested with 19 episodic, substance-using MSM, and the final adapted PCC was pilot-tested for acceptability and feasibility with 20 episodic, substance-using MSM. This process can be used as a roadmap for adapting PCC for other high-risk populations of MSM.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under cooperative agreement UR6PS000684 to Public Health Foundation Enterprises, City of Industry, California. The authors would like to acknowledge the participants in our study for their willingness to share their innermost thoughts and feelings. Thanks are also to Deborah J. Gelaude, Duane Moody and Vel McKleroy for their contributions to the development of the qualitative interview guide.

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The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 485, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0850, USA

    Kelly R. Knight

  2. San Francisco Department of Public Health, HIV Prevention Section, Substance Use Research Unit, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Moupali Das, Erin DeMicco, Tim Matheson, Alic Shook, Erin Antunez, Glenn-Milo Santos, Rand Dadasovich & Grant N. Colfax

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco and San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, CA, USA

    James W. Dilley

  4. Prevention Research Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, NCHHSTP, CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Jerris L. Raiford & Jeffrey H. Herbst

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  1. Kelly R. Knight
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  2. Moupali Das
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Correspondence to Kelly R. Knight.

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Knight, K.R., Das, M., DeMicco, E. et al. A Roadmap for Adapting an Evidence-Based HIV Prevention Intervention: Personal Cognitive Counseling (PCC) for Episodic Substance-Using Men Who Have Sex with Men. Prev Sci 15, 364–375 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-013-0364-z

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