An intervention to reduce drinking among individuals with HIV and Hepatitis C: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

Heavy drinking poses serious risks to individuals with HIV, Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), and especially HIV/HCV coinfection. We adapted the NIAAA Clinician's Guide (CG) to address HIV/HCV coinfection and paired this with the "HealthCall" smartphone app to create an intervention tailored to HIV/HCV. After formative work and pretesting with HIV/HCV coinfected heavy drinkers, we conducted a pilot trial to determine potential of this new intervention for decreasing drinking. A sample of 31 HIV/HCV coinfected heavy drinkers were randomly assigned to either intervention (n=16) or control (n=15; psychoeducation and brief advice) conditions. All participants completed a 60-day program consisting of ~25 minute baseline sessions and brief 5-10 minute booster sessions at 30 and 60 days, as well as an assessment-only follow-up at 90 days. Outcomes were measured using the TimeLine Followback at baseline, 30, 60, and 90 days. Generalized linear models were used for analysis. Intervention participants drank fewer mean drinks per drinking day at 60 days (IRR=0.43, p=0.03) and 90 days (IRR=0.34, p<0.01). Intervention participants also reported fewer drinking days at 90 days (Mean difference=34.5%; p<0.01). Self-efficacy differed between groups during intervention (p<0.05). Although our sample was small, our results suggested lower drinking among participants who received a modified CG intervention plus use of the smartphone app HealthCall, in comparison with education and advice alone. A larger study is indicated, to further examine this brief, disseminable intervention for HIV/HCV coinfected drinkers.