Risk Communication Core

HARP RISK COMMUNICATION CORE PROJECT SUMMARY The goal of the HIV and Alcohol Research center focused on Polypharmacy (HARP) is to design and implement effective personalized interventions for people aging with HIV (PAH) experiencing medical harm from unhealthy alcohol use and polypharmacy. Communication of risks associated with unhealthy alcohol and

polypharmacy as part of an intervention to motivate behavior change deserves careful consideration. The Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model, co-developed by Dr. Jeffrey Fisher, has been used successfully for over 35-years to change diverse unhealthy behaviors. The model assumes that individual-level

weaknesses in critical information, motivation, and behavioral skills are responsible for much unhealthy behavior. If these weaknesses can be identified and remediated through an intervention, significant and sustained health behavior change will occur. Guided by Dr. Fisher, we will apply the IMB model to the task of

changing harmful alcohol use and polypharmacy. To further inform this effort, we have assembled a Risk Communication Resource Core (RCC) of experts. RCC experts represent seven synergistic domains pertinent to this effort. These include behavioral health, mixed methods, dissemination and implementation sciences,

shared decision making, pharmaco-genomic risk and counseling, and provider context, all set upon the foundation of patient context and culture. This Core of experts will advise project teams on the design of a series of interlinked pilot studies in HARP Projects 1 and 2, including selection of patient salient risk outcomes,

development of study instruments that account for the literacy and numeracy skills of participants, ensuring the appropriate incorporation of core components of the IMB model for harmful alcohol use and polypharmacy in all pilot studies, and reviewing and providing input on the interview guides used for semi-structured interviews.

This group will also inform the interpretation and integration of quantitative and qualitative findings across HARP, including subgroup analyses, and all dissemination activities. Finally, the RCC will work with the HARP Administrative Data Analytics Core and the larger HARP expert network to seamlessly integrate personalized,

patient-focused risk messaging across domains of research. The optimal approach for communicating alcohol use and polypharmacy risks to effectively motivate behavior change is not yet well understood. The HARP Risk Communication Core strategically builds on our existing expert network to facilitate effective personalized risk

communication to support behavioral change for PAH harmed by alcohol use and polypharmacy.