Preventative Misconception Intervention

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study will carry out a preliminary proof of concept to evaluate two types of supplemental information that would serve as an adjunct to the traditional informed consent in a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) vaccine clinical trial. These will be compared to the condition where the traditional informed consent form is used alone. Using four intervention sites, participants will be administered a standard HIV vaccine trial consent form. They will then be randomized into three conditions: 1) No supplemental information; 2) Supplemental information with 1-sided messages (emphasizes information content related to vaccine trial randomization and unproven efficacy of vaccine); and 3) Supplemental information with 2-sided messages (acknowledges the beliefs that are at odds with the information content and seeks to neutralize those beliefs through counter-argument). An interviewer-administered questionnaire (IAQ) Part 1 will be administered before the traditional HIV vaccine trial informed consent is reviewed with the participant. An IAQ Part 2 will be administered directly after the HIV vaccine trial informed consent in the control condition or after reading through the supplemental material. Debriefing interviews will be conducted with selected participants to review their understanding of the study procedures and their reactions to the supplemental materials and/or questionnaires. The proposed research is a proof of concept study and is therefore not designed to test hypotheses. Consequently, formal hypothesis and related power calculations to detect certain effect sizes are not required. Instead, the goal will be to enroll an appropriate number of subjects for purpose of determining the feasibility of developing a larger study of supplemental information to be used as an adjunct to the informed consent statement in HIV vaccine clinical trials and providing related descriptive statistics.

Official Title
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Evaluation of an Intervention to Reduce Preventive Misconception in HIV Vaccine Clinical Trials

Conditions
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HIV, HIV Infections

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: 1-sided messages
* Behavioral: 2-sided messages


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Not known to be HIV positive by self report; NOTE: HIV test is not a criterion for entry. Participants will be referred for HIV testing, if interested; A history of at least one unprotected sexual encounter involving either vaginal or anal penetration (receptive or insertive) with a male partner during the 6 months prior to enrollment; Between the ages of 16-19 (inclusive) at the time of informed consent/assent; Ability to understand both written and spoken English; Willing to consider enrollment into an HIV vaccine trial; and Gives informed consent/assent for study participation. Exclusion Criteria: - Anything that would impair the participant's ability to meet the study requirements (i.e. readily apparent psychiatric symptoms (hallucinations, thought disorder), visibly distraught (suicidal, homicidal, exhibiting violent behavior), intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol or other substances at the time of study enrollment*; *NOTE: Participants cannot be visibly under the influence at the time of consent/enrollment, or during interviews.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 16 Years
Maximum Age: 19 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| No Intervention: No Supplemental Information<br>Participants will be administered a standard HIV vaccine trial consent form but no additional information. | |
| Experimental: Supplemental information with 1-sided message<br>Participants will be administered a standard HIV vaccine trial consent form and supplemental information with 1-sided messages (emphasizes information content related to vaccine trial randomization and unproven efficacy of vaccine). | Behavioral: 1-sided messages<br>* Supplemental information with 1-sided messages (emphasizes information content related to vaccine trial randomization and unproven efficacy of vaccine).<br>|
| Experimental: Supplemental information with 2-sided messages<br>Participants will be administered a standard HIV vaccine trial consent form and supplemental information with 2-sided messages (acknowledges the beliefs that are at odds with the information content and seeks to neutralize those beliefs through counter-argument). | Behavioral: 2-sided messages<br>* Supplemental information with 2-sided messages (acknowledges the beliefs that are at odds with the information content and seeks to neutralize those beliefs through counter-argument).<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Knowledge about phase 3 HIV vaccine clinical trials, specifically, understanding of random assignment and the unproven efficacy of the vaccine. |  | 7 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| To carry out preliminary evaluations of potential moderators of the intervention: health literacy, numeracy, impulsivity, STI history, risk behaviors, socio-demographics (e.g., age), and health beliefs. |  | 7 months | 
| Debriefing interviews with a subset of 36 participants in order to obtain feedback regarding research methodology, procedure, wording and content of the messages. |  | 7 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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vaccination, HIV prevention, YMSM, youth, HIV Preventative Vaccine