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Technique developed at UCLA may apply to other diseases, prevention efforts

The evidence-based approach not only led to increased HIV testing and encouraged significant behavioral change among high-risk groups but also proved to be one of the best HIV-prevention and testing approaches on the Internet, according to the study's lead investigator, Sean D. Young, an assistant professor of family medicine and director of innovation at the Center for Behavior and Addiction Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

The researchers noted some limitations to the study, among them the fact that they used only two Facebook communities per condition; these methods should be tested with more people before implementing them, they said. In addition, no best practices regarding the use of social networking for HIV communication have been established.

Study co-authors were William G. Cumberland, Sung-Jae Lee, Devan Jaganath, Greg Szekeres and Thomas Coates, all of UCLA.

The Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services (CHIPTS) is a collaboration involving researchers from UCLA, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, the Friends Research Institute, the RAND Corp. and the broader Los Angeles community. It aims to enhance the collective understanding of HIV research and to promote early detection, effective prevention and treatment programs for HIV. Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, CHIPTS serves as a bridge among researchers, the government, service providers and people with HIV in responding to changes in the HIV epidemic and in shaping sound public policy. This is accomplished through a range of services, including consultation on the development of new research projects and assistance with obtaining funds for these initiatives. CHIPTS provides technical assistance in HIV program development and evaluation and sponsors an annual conference for researchers to present their work. In addition, the center hosts an annual policy forum for researchers, government officials and the HIV community to discuss emerging HIV policy issues and hosts a research colloquia series.

The UCLA AIDS Institute and Center for AIDS Research is a multidisciplinary group of top-flight researchers united in the worldwide fight against HIV/AIDS, the first cases of which were reported in 1981 by UCLA physicians. Institute members include researchers in virology and immunology, genetics, cancer, neurology, ophthalmology, epidemiology, social science, public health, nursing and disease prevention. Their findings have led to advances in preventing and treating HIV as well as other diseases such as hepatitis B and C, influenza, TB and cancer. To find out about ways to support these efforts, please contact Laura Pescatore (lpescatore@support.ucla.edu).