Phase 2: Assessing the Usability and Acceptability of the Adapted CARET-HIV Recruitment and Enrollment

We recruited a convenience sample from community-based organizations and clinics in Los Angeles that serve people living with HIV. Our sample size goal was driven by established parameters for usability testing. A minimum sample of 25 participants is typical to pretest the usability of surveys (Oksenberg et al., 1991). Potential participants were screened for the following inclusion criteria: (a) at least 50 years old, (b) self-reports as HIV-positive, (c) consumes four or more drinks of alcohol in the past week, (d) not currently in treatment for an alcohol or substance use disorder, (e) at least one positive response to the CAGE questionnaire, and (f) able to complete study in English. We intentionally recruited individuals with high levels of alcohol consumption in order to ensure a significant proportion of people would meet at-risk thresholds on the CARET in order to test CARET-HIV and accompanying brief intervention.