Computerized HIV/Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Prevention Program
Condition: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; HIV Infections
MeSH terms: HIV Infections; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes
Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase 2

Summary: 
      The purpose of the current study is to test a computerized HIV/STD prevention program with
      heterosexual African Americans. The hypothesis is that those exposed to the program will
      increase their correct and consistent use of condoms compared to those not exposed to the
      program.
    

Detailed description: 
      The proposed study will involve the development and pilot testing of an interactive
      computerized tailored intervention program for HIV/STI prevention among at-risk
      heterosexually active African-American STI clinic patients, aged 18-29. The
      Attitude-Social-Influence Efficacy (ASE) model will serve as a conceptual foundation for the
      intervention and tailored feedback, which will assess and give feedback to participants
      separately for main/steady and other/casual partners. Individual modules will be developed
      for key theoretical concepts and subsequently tied together into an integrated system. The
      tailored feedback will additionally be enhanced by crafting intervention messages to be high
      in message sensation value and by developing interactive intervention activities for
      skill-building, which will be guided by both Social Cognitive Theory and skills training
      principles. The computerized intervention will be developed and guided using data collected
      from the target audience to ensure an empirically-based approach to tailoring. The
      intervention will also be developed with input from the target audience in order to maximize
      the appropriateness and persuasiveness of the feedback and the program, including interactive
      components. The final year of the project will entail a pilot test of the intervention in
      order to gather preliminary data on the acceptability and efficacy of such an intervention
      for increasing safer sexual behaviors among at-risk heterosexually active African-Americans.

      The specific aims of the study are: 1) to develop tailored feedback on HIV/STI prevention
      based on the ASE model, including condom attitudes, social influences, self-efficacy
      including communication / negotiation skills, partner and behavioral risk, correct condom
      use, and condom stages of change; 2) to enhance the delivery of the tailored messages using
      sensation-seeking targeting (SENTAR) and skill-building using interactive activities guided
      by Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and skills training principles; 3) to tie the individual
      theoretical modules together and develop a computerized intervention program for HIV/STI
      prevention, which provides tailored risk reduction messages to participants based upon an
      assessment of participant characteristics; 4) to develop empirically sound cutpoints,
      specific to the target audience, to guide the message tailoring; and 5) in a wait-list
      control group design, to pilot test the intervention for acceptability and efficacy in
      increasing condom use with main and casual partners among at-risk heterosexually active
      African-Americans, relative to a "usual care" comparison condition.
    

Intervention name(s): Tailored Information Program for Safer Sex
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Health communication intervention delivered on a laptop computer to increase positive perceptions of condoms and increase skills to use condoms.
Other intervention name(s): Computerized health intervention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: Single (Investigator)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: condom use; HIV prevention; African American; Behavioral intervention; HIV Seronegativity