Promoting Employment in Persons Living With HIV/AIDS

NCT03959826 | Active Not Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: 18-178-2
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 144
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Many persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are unemployed, with estimates indicating rates as high as 60%. This study will examine the efficacy of reinforcing job-acquisition activities for improving employment outcomes in PLWHA who desire to return to the workforce in part- or full-time capacity. In total, this study will randomly assign 144 unemployed PLWHA to one of two interventions. All participants will receive usual unemployment services with an emphasis on specific issues related to HIV/AIDS, plus encouragement for completing activities geared toward employment readiness and acquisition. The enhanced intervention will involve that same treatment plus chances to win prizes for engaging in job-related activities each week. Participants will receive study treatments for 16 weeks and complete follow-up evaluations throughout 18 months. The hypothesis is that participants reinforced for completing job-related activities will transition to employment at higher and faster rates and work more often than those who are not reinforced for job-related activities.

Conditions

Unemployment; HIV

Keywords

contingency management

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• job attainment

  self-report of job attainment: yes/no

  18 months

• proportion of days worked for pay

  self-report of number of days worked

  18 months

Study Arms (2)

Job activity contracting

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Standard services plus job activity contracting

Behavioral: activity contracting

Reinforcement for completing activities

EXPERIMENTAL

Standard services plus job activity contracting plus reinforcement for completing job-related activities

Behavioral: activity contracting; Behavioral: contingency management for activity completion

Interventions

activity contracting BEHAVIORAL

Participants will complete job-related activity contracts each week with the goal of obtaining employment.

Job activity contracting; Reinforcement for completing activities

contingency management for activity completion BEHAVIORAL

Participants will earn chances to win prizes for completing specific job-related activities.

Reinforcement for completing activities

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• HIV positive
• aged 18+ years
• not working in the formal economy

You may not qualify if:

• have a condition that may hinder study participation

Sponsors & Collaborators

• UConn Health: lead
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

United Labor Agency

Middletown, Connecticut, 06457, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Carla Rash, Ph.D.

  UConn Health

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 17, 2019
• First Posted: May 22, 2019
• Study Start: June 12, 2019
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2026
• Last Updated: January 20, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Locations

US (1)