Asha HIV Health Promotion Intervention in India

The purpose of this randomized pilot study was to conduct an intervention with 68 rural women living with AIDS to compare the effectiveness of two different programs on compliance with HIV/AIDS treatment regimens, improvement in knowledge about HIV/AIDS and TB, improvement in psychological distress, reduction in stigma; satisfaction with care provided to family members, reduction in number of opportunistic infections, increase in CD4 levels and completion of the designed Asha-Life (AL) program. The trial was designed to assess the impact of the Asha-Life (AL) intervention engaging with an HIV-trained village woman, Asha (Accredited Social Health Activist), to participate in the care of women living with AIDS (WLA), along with other health care providers compared to a Usual Care group. Two high prevalence HIV/AIDS villages in rural Andhra Pradesh, which were demographically alike and served by distinct Public Health Centers, were selected randomly from a total of 16 villages.