Microenterprise Intervention to Reduce Sexual Risk Behaviors in Young Adults
Condition: Feasibility
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The study team will conduct a two-group study to examine the feasibility of implementing an
      enhanced microenterprise intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors. The team will enroll
      approximately 40 young adults. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups.
      The first group ("control") will receive text messages with information on job openings. The
      second group ("intervention") will receive text messages with information on job openings
      plus HIV prevention and business educational sessions, mentored apprenticeship, a start-up
      grant (provided in 6 payments), and HIV behavioral economics text messages.
    

Detailed description: 
      The study team will conduct a two-group study to examine the feasibility of implementing an
      enhanced microenterprise intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors. The team will enroll
      approximately 40 young adults, aged 18 to 24, who are African-American, homeless,
      out-of-school, unemployed or under-employed, report unprotected/unsafe sex, and have access
      to a cell phone. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first group
      ("control") will receive text messages with information on job openings. The second group
      ("intervention") will receive text messages with information on job openings plus HIV
      prevention and business educational sessions, mentored apprenticeship, a start-up grant
      (provided in 6 payments), and HIV behavioral economics text messages. Data will be collected
      for 26 weeks (week 1 to week 26). Participants will undergo a baseline in-person interview at
      the time of enrollment (week 1) and be randomized to a group after completing a 3-week run-in
      period (week 1 to week 3). Each group will receive the assigned activities for 20 weeks (week
      4 to week 23). An endline in-person interview will be conducted in and around week 26,
      respectively. Participants will also complete a weekly text message survey from enrollment
      (week 1) to the end of the study (week 26). The study team will collect feasibility
      information pertaining to two primary outcomes: (i) the proportion of participants in both
      groups who have responded to 70% or more of the weekly text message surveys at week 26 and
      (ii) the proportion of participants in the intervention group who have completed 70% or more
      of intervention activities (i.e., text message receipt, session attendance, grant spending,
      and mentor contact) at week 23. As secondary outcomes, the study team will collect
      feasibility information about the proportion of all participants who receive one or more
      informational text messages each week, the proportion of all participants who respond to a
      text message survey each week, the proportion of intervention participants who attend an
      educational session each week, the proportion of intervention participants who receive one or
      more mentor contacts each week, and the proportion of intervention participants who spend one
      or more grant payments each week. The study team will also examine the completion and
      variation in behavioral outcomes pertaining to the proportion of participants in each group
      who report one or more unprotected/unsafe sex acts in the last week and last month, the
      proportion of participants in each group who report one or more safer sex acts in the last
      week and last month, the proportion of participants in each group who report one or more HIV
      prevention care-seeking or information-seeking acts in the last week and last month, and the
      proportion of participants in each group who report one or more paid hours of work in the
      last week and last month. The study is anticipated to start in December 2018.
    

Intervention name(s): Intervention; Control
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Participants will receive job announcements plus educational sessions, mentoring, behavioral economic text messages, and a start-up grant.; Participants will receive job announcements only.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Other