Increasing HIV/STI Home Testing Via a Digital Intervention Among Black Women

April 23, 2026 updated by: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Increasing HIV/STI Home Testing, Linkage to Care, and Linkage to PrEP Via a Digital Intervention Among Black Women in a Geographic Hotspot

The proposed intervention is a web-based intervention guided by theoretical components to increase HIV home testing among Black women at risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in a HIV hotspot in the South. The intervention will promote using the home test, linkage to care, and linkage to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) evaluation. The intervention has the potential to be implemented on a large scale and tailored based on location and population to increase testing, treatment, and PrEP adoption.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

In Travis County, Texas, deemed a HIV geographic hotspot due to high HIV rates, Black women are 18.4 times more likely to contract HIV compared to women of other races/ethnicities. Black women also have higher rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than other women; many STIs have no symptoms, are undiagnosed, and are untreated. Having an STI triples one's risk for contracting HIV. In Travis County, over 20% of women learned one year after contracting HIV that the the individual is HIV-positive, highlighting barriers to testing. Home HIV/STI testing has promise to increase rates of testing by circumventing barriers and thereby reduce medical costs through early detection and care. Home HIV/STI testing is also a prime opportunity to link Black women at high risk for HIV to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Yet, home testing alone may not overcome all barriers. Pairing home testing with an intervention designed to increase motivation and overcome barriers has the most promise to increase HIV/STI testing rates. The proposed project draws on 3 components, the situated, information-motivation-behavioral (sIMB) model, mental contrasting, and implementation intentions to develop a new, web-based intervention. This intervention is comprised of 5 sessions: 1) using the HIV/STI home testing kit, 2) mailing in the kit, 3) checking results, 4) obtaining treatment, and 5) attending an appointment for PrEP. Each session is structured the same: information regarding the importance of each behavior (i.e., taking the home test, mailing in the test, checking results, linkage to care, and linkage to PrEP), motivation via mental contrasting (identifying positive outcomes and barriers to each session) and methods to overcome the identified barriers (implementation intentions), and behavioral skills to increase self-efficacy. The project will occur in 3 phases that coincide with the aims to develop and culturally tailor the intervention. 1) Conduct formative research to develop the intervention. Four focus groups (n=4-6), with 24 Black women from Travis County will explore the constructs of sIMB, mental contrasting, and implementation intentions to develop the intervention protocol to be field tested in Aim 2. 2) Field test the intervention. The investigators will test the preliminary feasibility and acceptability of the intervention with 6 participants to make any necessary adjustments for Aim 3. 3) Conduct a feasibility pilot of the intervention. The investigators will determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy among 60 Black women in Travis County. Participants will be randomly assigned to the intervention or a web-based educational control. The investigators hypothesize that the intervention will be feasible, acceptable, and demonstrate a trend toward efficacy for completion of home testing, linkage to care, and linkage to PrEP. Follow-up web-based assessments will be administered 2-, 4-, and 6-months after baseline. The web-based design of the intervention greatly increases the opportunity for implementation on a large scale. The long-term goal is to increase HIV/STI testing among low-income Black women via scalable and sustainable methods to decrease HIV transmission and subsequent disparities.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
31

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Austin, Texas, United States, 78701
        • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
      • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75202
        • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77019
        • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
      • San Antonio, Texas, United States, 78205
        • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

15 years to 59 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 15 - 59 years of age
  • Identify as a cisgender woman
  • Identify as Black/African-American (Black/African American mixed race/ethnicity is included)
  • Read/speak/type in English
  • Have not tested for HIV/STIs in the past 12 months
  • Live in urban or suburban areas in Austin, Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio, Texas
  • Had condom-less sex in the past 6 months
  • Have access to a device (i.e., smart phone, tablet, or computer/laptop)
  • Have access to the internet
  • Reports at least one of the following:
  • A sexual partner who is living with HIV
  • Does not use or uses condoms inconsistently for vaginal/anal sex
  • Injects drugs with a partner who is living with HIV
  • Shared drug preparation or injection equipment with others

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Over the age of 59 or younger than 15 years
  • Identify as any gender other than a cisgender woman
  • Identify as any race/ethnicity other than Black/African-American
  • Are unable to fluently speak, read, or type in English
  • Had an HIV/STI test within the past 12 months
  • Live in rural areas of Texas or urban/suburban areas other than Austin, Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio, Texas
  • Use condoms 100% of the time during vaginal/anal sex in the past 6 months
  • Do not have access to a device (i.e., smart phone, tablet, or computer/laptop)
  • Do not have access to the internet
  • Reports that they do not have a sexual partner who is living with HIV, always uses condoms for vaginal/anal sex, does not inject drugs with a partner living with HIV, and does not share drug preparation or injection equipment with others.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Educational Control
Participants will receive a generic standard of care via a combination of videos, audio, and text/graphics across 5 sessions during 4 weeks.
Other: Educational Control
Participants will receive the HIV/STI home testing kit, instructions to mail in the kit, notification when results are ready to check online, treatment from a provider at Kind Clinic for positive results, and referral to Kind Clinic for PrEP. Each session and assessment will occur every 3 days. Session 1: Basic information about STIs. Session 2: HIV and stigma, basic information about HIV, and HIV transmission facts and myths. Session 3: Four stories about different people who are HIV-positive, how HIV was contracted, and one story about a woman who contracted herpes and how to all cope and live healthy lives. Session 4: How to disclose positive STI status. Session 5: Basic information about PrEP, and information on how to correctly use a male condom, female condom, and dental dam.
Experimental: Empowered to Test Yourself
There will be 5 tailored web based sessions of the intervention over 4 weeks, all of which will follow the same format.
Behavioral: Empowered to Test Yourself
There will be 5 sessions of the intervention, all of which will follow the same format. Participants will be sent push notifications for each session. Each session will begin with using relevant constructs from sIMB (i.e., information and behavioral skills). Next, participants will choose positive outcomes resulting from the behavior, barriers to performing the behavior (mental contrasting), select situational cues and action plans to overcome selected barriers (implementation intentions), and practice typing in implementation intentions and positive outcomes from memory (memory practice). To ensure participants retain the implementation intentions, the investigators will use memory practice. Participants will be asked to self-code if the participant is correct or incorrect. Lastly, participants will learn behavioral skills to engage in each of the 5 actions to increase self-efficacy.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants Who Used Home HIV Test
Time Frame: 4 days
Self-report of use of HIV test within 4 days of receiving the test.
4 days
Number of Participants Who Mailed HIV Test
Time Frame: 2 days
Self-report of mailing at-home HIV test within 2 days; verification from Kind Clinic that test was received.
2 days
Number of Participants Who Checked HIV Results
Time Frame: 7 days
Self-report of HIV test results checked within 7 days after Kind Clinic receives the at home HIV test; results verified by Kind Clinic.
7 days
Number of HIV Positive Participants Who Received HIV Treatment
Time Frame: 7 days
If HIV test is positive, self-report of treatment for HIV; results verified by Kind Clinic.
7 days
Number of HIV Negative Participants Who Attended PrEP Evaluation
Time Frame: 7 days
If HIV test is negative, self-report of attending appointment for PrEP evaluation within 7 days after receipt of negative HIV test; appointment attendance verified by Kind Clinic.
7 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants Who Used Home STI Test
Time Frame: 4 days
Self-report of use of STI test within 4 days of receiving STI home test.
4 days
Number of Participants Who Received STI Treatment
Time Frame: Within 7 days of positive HIV test
If applicable (if STI test is positive), self-report of treatment for STI(s); results verified by Kind Clinic.
Within 7 days of positive HIV test
Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM) Score
Time Frame: Post intervention up to 1 week
Scale is Completely disagree (1) to Completely agree (5). Scores average 4 items; higher scores indicate greater feasibility.
Post intervention up to 1 week
Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM) Score
Time Frame: Post intervention up to 1 week
Scale is Completely disagree (1) to Completely agree (5). Scores average 4 items; higher scores indicate greater acceptability.
Post intervention up to 1 week

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Recruitment Materials Acceptability Developed by Study Team
Time Frame: Baseline
Measures adapted from the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM). Scale is Completely disagree (1) to Completely agree (5). Scores average 4 items; higher scores indicate greater acceptability.
Baseline
Acceptability of Measures Developed by Study Team
Time Frame: Post intervention up to 1 week
Measures are adapted from other researchers: 1) The questions were easy to understand. 2) The questions were respectful. 3) The intervention instructions were bothersome (reverse score). Scale is Completely disagree (1) to Completely agree (5). Scores average 3 items; higher scores indicate greater acceptability.
Post intervention up to 1 week
Acceptability of Program Instructions Developed by Study Team
Time Frame: Post intervention up to 1 week
Measures are adapted from other researchers: 1) The intervention instructions were easy to understand. 2) The intervention instructions were respectful. 3) The intervention instructions were bothersome (reverse score). Scale is Completely disagree (1) to Completely agree (5). Scores average 3 items; higher scores indicate greater acceptability.
Post intervention up to 1 week
Participant Retention Rate of Intervention and Educational Control Session.
Time Frame: 28 days
The proportion of participants who completed the intervention divided by how many participants started the intervention compared to the proportion of participants who completed the educational control condition divided by how many participants started the educational control condition. Larger proportions indicate higher retention rates.
28 days
Baseline Demographic Characteristics
Time Frame: Baseline
Race, age, gender, fluent in English, location (county), smart phone and/or internet access, income, employment, insurance.
Baseline
Number of Participants With High Sexual Risk
Time Frame: Baseline
Tested for HIV/STIs and unprotected sex. Testing will be measured with 3 items by asking participants have they ever been tested for each HIV/STI individually and the answer options will be 3, 6, 12, more than 12 months ago, and never. Those who responded that they had been tested will be asked what the results the results of the test (negative, positive, or they do not know). Participants who tested more than 12 months ago or never will be eligible. Unprotected sex will as if participants had unprotected vaginal or anal sex with a man in the past 12 months. Only participants who respond "yes" will be eligible.
Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Liesl A Nydegger, PhD, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 2, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 30, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 16, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 19, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 25, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 23, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB00023755
  • 7R34MH128054-03 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

The investigators will share the findings through presentations at national and international conferences. They will also seek to publish findings in key scientific outlets. The investigators will assure that they are in compliance with NIH requirements to deposit peer reviewed publications with the PubMed Central repository, thus facilitating dissemination of findings to the scientific community and general public. The investigators will willingly share the data with scholars wishing to collaborate on publications related to the project. To improve the ease of collaboration the investigators will thoroughly document all decisions regarding how they classify and code our transcribed and quantitative data.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will become available in the Texas Data repository within 1 year after study completion where it will remain for 5 years.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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