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Tailoring an individual treatment plan with a doctor is critical for people with HIV.

The word “fashion” means “to give shape or form.” It makes sense, then, that Merck is collaborating with fashion designer Mondo Guerra to help people living with HIV be actively involved in shaping the course of their treatments.  I Design is a new national HIV education campaign to help empower people living with HIV to work with their doctors in taking a "tailored" approach to their treatment plan.

According to the recently revised U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines on HIV-1 treatment, individualizing treatment with both the patient and physician involved in the decision-making “is the cornerstone of any treatment plan.”

“I have been living with HIV for more than 10 years and know how crucial it is to find a treatment approach that’s tailored to me,” said Guerra, winner of the hit television show, Project Runway All Stars. “As a designer, self-expression has always been very important to me, but being prepared to have a conversation with my doctor about my needs has been challenging.”

The I Design website gives people living with HIV the ability to design a digital textile representing their “tailored” approach to working with their doctor. Through the process of creating their own design, visitors to the site will receive tips to help facilitate open dialogue with their doctors. Downloadable resources, such as a checklist, also are available to help guide conversations with a doctor about managing HIV.

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