Cognitive remediation group therapy compared to mutual aid group therapy for people aging with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder: randomized, controlled trial

Date
2021-08-21
Authors
Eaton, Andrew D.
Craig, Shelley L.
Rouke, Sean B.
Sota, Teresa
McCullagh, John W.
Fallon, Barbara A.
Walmsley, Sharon L.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Abstract

Cognitive impairment is an important comorbidity for people aging with HIV, and group therapy may ameliorate the associated anxiety and stress. Combination psychosocial interventions may have better outcomes than single technique approaches. A pilot, parallel design, two-arm trial randomized people aging with HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND) to Cognitive Remediation Group Therapy (Experimental; combination of brain training activities and mindfulness-based stress reduction) or Mutual Aid Group Therapy (Control). Outcomes were feasibility, acceptability, fidelity, and exploratory measures of anxiety, stress, coping, and use of mindfulness and brain training activities. Amongst forty contacted participants, 15 replied, 12 recruited, and 10 completed. Assessors confirmed intervention delivery with satisfactory fidelity. The novel arm had statistically significant improvements in stress and mindfulness use compared to control, and brain training and mindfulness use sustained at 3-month follow-up. Requiring a HAND diagnosis made recruitment challenging. Further research should broaden eligibility to people aging with HIV and cognitive challenges.

Description
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Social Work with Groups on 21 Aug 2021, available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01609513.2021.1963389.
Keywords
HIV & AIDS, group therapy, cognition, aging, pilot randomized controlled trial, Canada
Citation
Eaton, A. D., Craig, S. L., Rourke, S. B., Sota, T., McCullagh, J. W., Fallon, B. A., & Walmsley, S. L. (2021). Cognitive remediation group therapy compared to mutual aid group therapy for people aging with HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder: Randomized, Controlled Trial. Social Work with Groups, 45(2), 116-131. https://doi.org/10.1080/01609513.2021.1963389
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