Convenience sample.
Recruitment and enrollment for this demonstration project lasted approximately 2 years.
Approximately 168 participants.
Seeds: eligible subjects included individuals 18 and older who are socially connected to out-of-care HIV infected persons and comfortable discussing HIV and HIV care history with persons in their social network.
Alters: Eligible subjects included HIV positive individuals 18 and older who are out-of-care (see Navigation Program for out of care criteria) and referred by a seed, another alter or self-referred from a flyer.
Subjects enrolled into Project Engage based on recruitment strategy, a social network approach or direct recruitment approach.
Project Engage tested and compared two methods for identifying and linking hard-to-reach out-of-care HIV-positive individuals. The first method used a chain-referral sampling method known as snowball sampling to find persons from the target population. This method relies on persons recruiting members of their social network who they believe are HIV-infected and out-of-care. The second method utilized direct recruitment through the use of flyers posted at community based organizations and social venues (such as, bars and street events) where HIV-infected persons tend to congregate. All persons enrolled were provided incentives for completing study-related activities as well as identifying and recruiting persons who are HIV-positive but who are not in regular HIV care.
To test and compare two innovative methods for identifying hard-to-reach HIV-infected persons not currently receiving HIV medical care
To evaluate if either a chain-referral (snowball sampling) or a direct recruitment sampling method is more effective at identifying HIV-infected persons who are out of care
To describe the demographics, HIV testing and care histories of the study group
To identify barriers to HIV testing and care services for participants
To evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of either method (snowball sampling or direct recruitment) within a clinical or community setting
To determine the cost-effectiveness of implementing Project Engage.