Project 460047

Cognitive impairment is a significant health issue for people aging with HIV/AIDS and has been identified as a priority area of focus in Canada. Cognitive challenges can include forgetfulness, trouble concentrating, and increasing struggles to learn new skills, all of which contribute to poorer mental health and decreased quality of life. Although there is no specific drug therapy that can reverse the brain impairment, group therapies may help people aging with HIV and cognitive challenges to better cope with their symptoms when combined with their usual medical treatment and follow-up. This community-based study will involve peer-led focus groups to discuss cognitive remediation group therapy (CRGT) - a combination of mindfulness-based stress reduction and brain training activities tested in a pilot randomized, controlled trial (RCT) - as an in-person intervention for people aging with HIV in 2019. Focus groups (n=~30) in Ontario and Saskatchewan will principally address how the intervention could be adapted in an online or hybrid form considering the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Data and team development will contribute to a CIHR Project or Operating Grant application for an adequately powered RCT to test the efficacy of CRGT. To achieve this grant's objectives of creating a CRGT adaptation plan and forming the team for a larger proposal, we have convened a community-based team comprised of people aging with HIV, organizational decision-makers, frontline clinicians, and researchers. We plan to engage additional peers aging with HIV and organizational representatives who could offer adaptation insight and potentially host the larger RCT. Through the conduct of this project, the potential is high for a thoughtful, community-led adaptation of CRGT to emerge. Given the aging of the HIV population in Canada, increasing support will be required in addition to medical care to improve quality of life, and proactively address concerns about cognition.