DESCRIPTION:

ATHENA (Adherence Through Home Education & Nursing Assessment) is a prospective clinical trial examining the use of a Freirian home-based nursing intervention as a tool to improve adherence to HAART for people with HIV disease. The Freirian intervention emphasizes the importance of dialogue and active participation between educator and participant -- instead of passive receipt of information -- in order to empower the participant to decide how best to improve adherence.

The trial will have two arms: Both the control arm and the treatment arm will receive standard nursing care from the clinic, a series of 45 minute interviews on adherence -- scheduled to coincide with clinic visits -- given by trained interviewers from ATHENA, and electronic monitoring caps for at least one anti-retroviral to measure adherence. The treatment arm, additionally, will have a series of home-based interventions by trained interventionists from ATHENA. The trial will last 18 months, and we plan to enroll 200 people.

ATHENA has very broad eligibility criteria. For your information, they are listed here:

Inclusion
• Both Men and Women are eligible
• Patient is HIV positive
• Patient currently is prescribed HAART (with at least three antiretrovirals)
• Life expectancy is 18 months or longer
• Patient scores 60 or higher on the Karnofsky Performance Scale
• Patient does not plan to re-locate outside of Connecticut in next 18 months

Exclusion
• Patient does not speak English or Spanish
• Patient resides in extended care facility or does not have primary responsibility for taking his or her medication
• Patient is in another study on adherence
• Patient currently is participating in any other experimental protocol involving pharmacologic therapy, with the exception of expanded-access investigational HIV drug programs

BACKGROUND:

According to Greek mythological legend, Athena, the daughter of Zeus, had sprung fully-grown, clad in armor, from her father’s head, and thus has no mother. She is fierce and brave in battle but only wars to defend the state and home from outside enemies. She is the goddess of the city, handicrafts, and agriculture. She invented the bridle (which permitted man to tame horses), the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot. She is the embodiment of wisdom, reason, and purity. She was Zeus's favorite child and was allowed to use his weapons including his thunderbolt. A virgin goddess, her favorite city is Athens, her tree is the olive, the owl is her bird. It is Athena, more than any other goddess, who personifies the Greek ideal. She is patroness of art, science, and learning and, at times, fills the role of Goddess of health. Moreover, she is the symbol of wisdom and intelligence. She protected heroes, such as Ulysses and represented to all courage, boldness, and the will to victory: but not just through simple action, but action directed by response. 

Visit ATHENA's sister projects: The Connecticut AIDS Education and Training Center The GRACE Project Back to YSN Research Page