An Innovative HIV Prevention Intervention Using Social Networking Technology

May 30, 2013 updated by: Jeffrey T. Parsons, Hunter College of City University of New York
An existing face-to-face HIV prevention intervention (The Young Men's Health Project, YMHP; R01DA20366) will be iteratively adapted and pilot-tested to target difficult to engage high-risk young men who have sex with men (YMSM) via online social networking and aims to reduce both high-risk sexual behavior and drug use.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This pilot study entails a two-phase process. During Phase I, 15 former YMHP participants (intervention decliners and those who only completed one session) will participate in focus groups to advise us on the feasibility and pragmatic specifications of an HIV prevention intervention received via the IM (instant messaging) function of Facebook. Focus group transcripts will be examined to isolate key recommendations for modifying the intervention's structure and procedures. Focus groups will be reconvened for additional feedback on the modified intervention, followed by further adjustment. During Phase II, 40 high-risk YMSM (ages 18-29 and Facebook users) will be enrolled in a pilot of the modified intervention. The intervention will span 4 weeks and contain 8 bi-weekly 30 minute Motivational Interviewing (MI) chat-window sessions consisting of a sequential progression of intervention approaches tailored to each participant's readiness to change their drug use and high risk sexual behavior. Data from Phase II will include pre-post intervention behavioral risk assessments, as well as individual interviews with all 40 intervention participants for a qualitative evaluation regarding the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention's structure, and process. Findings from these interviews (and counselor focus group) will inform the fine-tuning of the intervention in preparation for a subsequent randomized control trial (RCT).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

60

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10001
        • Hunter College, CUNY, Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 29 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Phase I:

For the focus group portion of the study (N=20), we will invite former YMHP participants who declined the intervention or only completed one session, agreed to be contacted for future studies, indicated using Facebook, are still between the ages of 18-29 and live in NYC.

Phase II:

To qualify for the intervention portion of the study, participants must report

  1. at least 5 days of drug use (of 1 or more of the following drugs: cocaine, methamphetamine (MA), or ecstasy (MDMA) in the prior three months;
  2. high-risk sexual behavior (1 or more acts of unprotected insertive or receptive anal sex with a male partner of unknown or HIV+ serostatus), in the prior three months;
  3. biologically male;
  4. age 18 to 29;
  5. HIV-;
  6. reliable Internet access;
  7. Facebook use at least four times per week;
  8. able to write in English given that intervention participation involves writing;
  9. NYC residency.

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants will be excluded for any of the following reasons:

  1. Unstable, serious psychiatric symptoms;
  2. Currently suicidal/homicidal;
  3. Evidence of gross cognitive impairment;
  4. Self-reported current enrollment in a drug or HIV-related intervention or research study.

We exclude those with serious cognitive or psychiatric impairments because this would compromise ability to participate, regardless of whether these impairments are attributed to drug use. Such impairments would make completion of assessments difficult.

Excluded participants will be referred to local community health and social services resources, for which we have established linkages to facilitate access to care regardless of ability to pay.

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: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Motivational Interviewing
Eight 30-minute sessions utilizing Motivational Interviewing will be delivered to reduce substance use and sexual risk in a group of high risk young men who have sex with men.
Other: Behavioral: HIV prevention intervention
Substance using HIV-negative young men who have sex with men who engage in sexual risk and use social networking (Facebook) will be recruited and enrolled in a brief intervention utilizing Motivational Interviewing over chat window to reduce their substance use and sexual risk. They will also evaluate their intervention experience at the end of their eight sessions and post-assessment.
Other Names:
  • Reductions in sexual risk and substance use

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
feasibility and acceptability of intervention delivery
Time Frame: 1 month
Participants (N=40) who received eight 30-minute sessions of Motivational Interviewing (to reduce substance use and sexual risk) over instant messaging on Facebook will be interviewed to evaluate the intervention delivery and structure, including their perceived connection with the counselor and concerns with receiving an intervention online.
1 month

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Hunter College of City University of New York

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Corina T Lelutiu-Weinberger, PhD, Hunter College, CUNY, Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training

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.

Helpful Links

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

November 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 22, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 24, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

June 27, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

June 3, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 30, 2013

Last Verified

May 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R03DA031607 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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