Objective New treatments introduced in the mid 1990s led many people with HIV/AIDS who previously had been disabled by their disease to contemplate workforce reentry; many remain unemployed, and little is known concerning interventions that might help them return to work. We report the results of a randomized clinical trial (RCT) of an intervention designed to help people with HIV/AIDS reenter the workforce. Design We tested a mixed (group – individual) modality intervention that incorporated elements of Motivational Interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2002), skills building from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (Linehan, 1993), and job-related skills (Price & Vinokur, 1995). A total of 174 individuals participated in either the intervention or in standard of care and were followed for 24 months. Results Compared to individuals referred for standard of care, participants in the intervention engaged in more workforce-reentry activities over time and, once employed, were more likely to remain employed. Dose-response analyses revealed that among intervention participants, participants who attended more than one individual session engaged in more workforce-reentry activities than did individual who attended one or fewer individual sessions, whereas frequency of group session participation did not effect a difference between participants who attended more than six group sessions and participants who attended six or fewer group sessions. Conclusion Theoretically-based workforce-reentry assistance programs can assist disabled people with HIV/AIDS in their return-to-work efforts.

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