The Healthy Life Choices Project in HIV-Positive Patients

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years of age or older
• diagnosed with HIV or AIDS based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria
• experienced a minimum of three episodes of loose, watery, or liquid stools in a 24-hour period for at least 3 weeks
• provide verification from their primary care provider of HIV status, chronic diarrhea history, documentation of medical evaluations completed
• laboratory confirmation that stool samples were negative for pathogens
• patients who were taking antidiarrheal agents were required to be on a stable regimen (same drug, dosage, and frequency) for at least 7 days before entry into the study and still meet diarrhea frequency and consistency criteria
• antiretroviral agents taken to manage HIV required a stable regimen (same drugs, dosage, and frequency) for at least 8 weeks before study entry
• patients were required to complete a mini-mental state examination, obtaining a score of 24 or higher

Exclusion Criteria:

• not meeting any of the above criteria