Positive Self-Management Program for HIV

Positive Self-Management Program for HIV (PSMP) is a workshop that is held for two and a half hours, once a week, for individuals with HIV. The workshop is led by two trained leaders in churches, libraries, hospitals, and community centers. Over seven weeks, the workshop assists members in integrating medication regimens into their daily routines, handling the emotional burden of living with HIV, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and communicating with friends, family, and health professionals. The workshop is intended to complement and enhance clinical HIV treatment.

Classes involve participation from all members. By communicating treatment goals and plans to one another, members are more likely to successfully manage their HIV and continue to live healthy, fulfilling lives. PSMP leaders are either trained off-site by Stanford trainers or participate in web-based cross training following the successful completion of the Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Management Program.

Positive Self-Management Program for HIV is a group workshop that helps individuals with HIV manage their disease and continue to live fulfilling lives.

In a randomized controlled trial, a three-month follow up questionnaire assessment found that PSMP participants had a lower symptom severity index (p<.03) and had greater self efficacy in controlling symptoms (p<.02) than a control group. In addition, PSMP participants also exercised 1.8 times a week more than the control group, although this increase was not statistically significant. In another randomized controlled trial, a six-month follow-up assessment found that PSMP participants had significantly better medication adherence and better HIV suppression in their blood than a control group.

Licensed PSMP organizations are in fifteen states and four countries.