Targeting Non-virally Suppressed Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder in HIV Primary Care

The proposed pilot study is a randomized feasibility trial of technology-enhanced brief intervention for drinking reduction and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence in 60 non-virally suppressed HIV participants who meet criteria for DSM-5 Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in a Primary Care clinic. Study sample will be recruited from a large urban HIV primary care clinic at Montefiore Hospital where the investigators previously successfully enrolled, randomized and treated study participants The interventions consist of brief meetings to discuss drinking and ART adherence enhanced with daily self-monitoring through the use of a smartphone application that tracks drinking and other aspects of health. These meetings will be based on the Clinician's Guide, a brief intervention for heavy drinking in primary care settings advocated by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Participants will be assessed at baseline, 30, 60, 90 days, and 6 months after baseline. By the end of treatment (60 days) and throughout the follow-up period, alcohol use is expected to highest among participants who receive the Clinician's Guide alone, and lowest among participants who receive the Clinician's Guide plus the smartphone application.