a pragmatic clinical trial of mypeeps mobile to improve hiv prevention behaviors in diverse adolescent msm

Conditions: HIV Infections

Summary: the proposed mypeeps mobile intervention is a novel and evidence-driven intervention using mobile technology to deliver hiv prevention information specifically developed for at-risk young men who have sex with men (ymsm). this will be the one of the first studies to test the efficacy of a scaled-up, mobile version of an existing human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) prevention intervention originally developed for, designed by, and piloted for, a diverse group of ymsm. mypeeps mobile will be tested in an randomized controlled trial with racially and ethnically diverse hiv-negative or unknown status ymsm aged 13-18 at four geographically diverse sites: birmingham, chicago, new york city, and seattle, allowing for increased generalizability of findings.

men who have sex with men (msm) bear a greater burden of hiv/aids than any other population group in the us, comprising only 2% of the population but 56% of individuals living with hiv/aids. although much of the increased incidence in hiv has been reported among ymsm, especially among racial and ethnic minority groups, and is linked to high-risk sexual behavior, there remains a dearth of evidence-based hiv prevention interventions for ymsm - and none that address racially/ethnically diverse ymsm. to address this need, this study leverages mobile technology and mypeeps, an existing theory-driven, multi-ethnic, group-level, evidence-based intervention for diverse ymsm. mypeeps is a manualized curriculum, comprised of 6 modules focusing on key intermediate social and personal factors, including knowledge (e.g., correct way to use a condom), self-efficacy for safer sex, interpersonal communication skills and behavioral skills. mypeeps is one of the only hiv prevention interventions in the literature that focuses on diverse adolescent msm. long-term sustainability of face-to face, group-level behavioral interventions, such as mypeeps, have been problematic for dissemination in at-risk populations, particularly among young racial and ethnic minority groups. in response to this challenge, the investigators propose to translate mypeeps from a face-to-face, group-based curriculum to a mobile, responsive-driven web-based platform, accessible by smartphone or other web-enabled devices, to increase accessibility and scalability for diverse ymsm. the ubiquitous nature of mobile phones in daily life, especially among 13-18 year olds, has created opportunities for health interventions in a portable format with enhanced privacy. using a participatory approach, this study will incorporate user-centered design in the translation of the mypeeps intervention onto a mobile platform.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * self-identify as male, nonbinary, or genderqueer * male sex assigned at birth * understand and read english * live in the united states or its territories * own or have access to a mobile device (e.g., smartphone or tablet) * same-sex attraction and either kissed another guy or intending to engage in sexual activity with another guy in next year * self-report hiv-negative or unknown status exclusion criteria: * hiv+

Keywords: mypeeps mobile intervention human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) men who have sex with men (msm)