Motivational interviewing and problem-solving therapy intervention for patients on antiretroviral therapy for HIV in Tshwane, South Africa: A randomized controlled trial to assess the impact on alcohol consumption

Background and Aims

Reduction of alcohol consumption is important for people undergoing treatment for HIV. We tested the efficacy of a brief intervention for reducing the average volume of alcohol consumed among patients on HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Design, Setting and Participants

This study used a two-arm multi-centre randomized controlled trial with follow-up to 6 months. Recruitment occurred between May 2016 and October 2017 at six ART clinics at public hospitals in Tshwane, South Africa.

Participants were people living with HIV, mean age 40.8 years [standard deviation (SD) = 9.07], 57.5% female, and on average 6.9 years (SD = 3.62) on ART. At baseline (BL), the mean number of drinks consumed over the past 30 days was 25.2 (SD = 38.3). Of 756 eligible patients, 623 were enrolled.

Intervention

Participants were randomly assigned to a motivational interviewing (MI)/problem-solving therapy (PST) intervention arm (four modules of MI and PST delivered over two sessions by interventionists) or a treatment as usual (TAU) comparison arm. People assessing outcomes were masked to group assignment.

Measurements

The primary outcome was the number of standard drinks (15 ml pure alcohol) consumed during the past 30 days assessed at 6-month follow-up (6MFU).

Findings

Of the 305 participants randomized to MI/PST, 225 (74%) completed the intervention (all modules). At 6MFU, retention was 88% for the control and 83% for the intervention arm. In support of the hypothesis, an intention-to-treat-analysis for the primary outcome at 6MFU was −0.410 (95% confidence interval = −0.670 to −0.149) units lower on log scale in the intervention group than in the control group (P = 0.002), a 34% relative reduction in the number of drinks. Sensitivity analyses were undertaken for patients who had alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) scores ≥ 8 at BL (n = 299). Findings were similar to those of the whole sample.

Conclusions

In South Africa, a motivational interviewing/problem-solving therapy intervention significantly reduced drinking levels in HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy at 6-month follow-up.