HIV Prevention Program for African American Teen Males
Condition: HIV Infections; Sexually Transmitted Infections
MeSH terms: Infections; Communicable Diseases; Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this study is to test if sexual health interventions can reduce the incidence
      of STIs among African American teens (15 to 21 years old). By doing this study, we hope to
      help African American teens improve their condom use skills and encourage them to use condoms
      more frequently. If the number of STIs in this population can be decreased, the health of
      African American teen males will greatly improve. We also believe that sexual partners
      (typically African American teen females) will also benefit.
    

Detailed description: 
      Based on the observation that African Americans are vastly more likely than their white and
      Hispanic counterparts to be infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the Centers
      for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has termed AIDS a "health crisis" for African
      Americans and has called for a heightened national response to this glaring racial disparity.
      The crisis is especially dramatic in the Southern United States. Thus, the search for
      effective interventions tailored to this population is a national priority. This study
      expands upon a previous study conducted among young African American men. In the previous
      study we developed and tested the efficacy of a brief, clinic-based, program designed to
      interactively promote safer sex for African American men (18 to 29 years of age) engaging in
      sex with women. Adjusted findings from the previous study provided relatively robust support
      for program efficacy, with men who received the intervention program being about two-thirds
      less likely, than controls, to acquire an STI during a 6-month period. This study expands on
      the work performed in the previous study by developing and testing a version for younger
      African American males (i.e., teen males).

      The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of a brief, clinic-based and theory-guided,
      intervention designed to reduce STI incidence among African American teen (15 to 20 years
      old) males presenting themselves for STI testing.
    

Intervention name(s): Male Sexual Health Program; Focus on the Future Program
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): An attention equivalent control condition entailing a 60-minute one-to-one session that will didactically teach teens about several aspects of male sexual health. The content and objectives are related only to knowledge acquisition. In addition to this program, teens randomized to the control condition will receive standard-of-care services from the clinic. This involves the provision of free condoms (one size "fits all" condoms) and a brief (nurse-delivered) counseling message to practice safer sex.; A 60-minute, theory-guided program designed to increase the quality and frequency of teens' condom use within the context of making safer choices regarding partners and sexual behaviors. The program is explicitly designed to increase the quality and frequency of teen's condom use.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: African American; Men; Condoms; Randomization; Brief Intervention; HIV; HIV Seronegativity