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HIV Prevention and Attrition: Challenges and Opportunities

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Abstract

A sizable number of individuals at risk of becoming HIV infected or infecting others either do not access or drop out of AIDS prevention programs. Attrition is a relevant concern for HIV prevention research and practice alike as nonparticipation (enrolling in but never attending an intervention) and dropout (beginning but not completing an intervention) can affect internal and external validity, detrimentally impact the service provider's morale and standing with funders, and potentially lead to poor outcomes for target populations. Understanding how individual factors including demographic and developmental characteristics and programmatic factors such as intervention dosage and venue are related to attrition and how to attract and retain individuals in proven interventions is crucial to prevention efficacy in the third decade of HIV prevention. In this paper, we provide an overview of factors associated with attrition from HIV counseling interventions, offer remedies for practitioners and researchers, and provide a case analysis of a brief motivational enhancement counseling intervention that was designed, in part, to avoid some of the traditional reasons individuals do not enroll in or drop out of HIV prevention programs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

    Scott E. Rutledge, Roger A. Roffman, Joseph F. Picciano & James P. Berghuis

  2. Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

    Seth C. Kalichman

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  1. Scott E. Rutledge
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  2. Roger A. Roffman
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  3. Joseph F. Picciano
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  4. Seth C. Kalichman
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Correspondence to Scott E. Rutledge.

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Rutledge, S.E., Roffman, R.A., Picciano, J.F. et al. HIV Prevention and Attrition: Challenges and Opportunities. AIDS Behav 6, 69–82 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014580629524

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