Using Mobile Technology and Incentives With Men Who Have Sex With Men and Transgender Women for HIV Prevention

NCT03144336 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: RAND
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 217
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This project called Mobile Technology and Incentives (MOTIVES) aims to increase engagement with HIV prevention information and improve testing frequency among Latino/a men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW). Its primary goal is to develop and test the feasibility and acceptability of an HIV prevention intervention that uses text messages in combination with prizes to improve HIV prevention information retention and HIV testing frequency. The project will be conducted in collaboration with Bienestar Human Services, Inc. (Bienestar) in Los Angeles County. Phase 1 consists of formative research (focus groups n=9) with MSM (n=52) and TGW (n=39) to complement the previously collected pilot data (2014-2015) to finalize the planned intervention. In Phase 2, the intervention will be piloted among 5 individuals, implemented, and tested in a small, randomized controlled trial (RCT) among 200 Latino MSM and TGW from Bienestar's HIV testing sites. Interested individuals will be screened for eligibility upon testing HIV-negative (those testing positive will be linked to HIV services as required by Bienestar's standard of care). Eligible participants will be randomized into either the intervention or control group that will both receive study information weekly and will be invited to get tested for HIV every three months. Participants in the intervention group will be able to accumulate rewards points for correctly answering weekly quizzes regarding the HIV prevention information; these reward incentives aim to encourage retention in the study and improve HIV prevention knowledge engagement and recollection. Every three months those in the intervention group can win a prize based on testing HIV-negative at least once during that time period. The chance of winning will increase based on the number of reward points a participant accumulates by correctly answering questions on the weekly quizzes. The primary outcome measures will include HIV-preventive knowledge and frequency of HIV testing (at least once every 3 months). In Phase 3 of the study, the investigators will conduct 6 focus groups with approximately 5-8 participants each among MSM (n=3) and TGW (n=1) study participants, testing site staff (n=1), and administrative staff (n=1) to identify implementation challenges and areas for improvement; and estimate mission-critical design parameters with point and confidence interval estimates to inform a subsequent, fully-powered R01 application.

Conditions

HIV Infections; HIV

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• HIV knowledge

  HIV knowledge using the 18 items in Carey, M. P., \& Schroder, K. E. E. (2002). Development and psychometric evaluation of the brief HIV knowledge questionnaire (HIV-KQ-18). AIDS Education and Prevention, 14, 174-184.

  12 months

• HIV testing frequency

  Whether a participant tests HIV-negative within a given 3-month window

  12 months

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• HIV seroconversion

  12 months

• Sexual risk behavior

  12 months

Study Arms (2)

Intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the intervention group will be able to accumulate rewards points for correctly answering weekly quizzes regarding the HIV prevention information; these reward incentives aim to encourage retention in the study and improve HIV prevention knowledge engagement and recollection. Intervention 'Rewards for testing HIV-negative' Every three months those in the intervention group can win a prize based on testing HIV-negative at least once during that time period. The chance of winning will increase based on the number of reward points a participant accumulates by correctly answering questions on the weekly quizzes.

Behavioral: Information provision; Behavioral: Weekly quizzes; Behavioral: Rewards for testing HIV-negative

Control group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Intervention: Information provision: Participants in the control group will receive weekly information by SMS to encourage retention in the study and improve HIV prevention knowledge engagement and recollection. They are encouraged to come to the clinic every three months to test for HIV but do not receive any incentives for answering messages or for the HIV tests.

Behavioral: Information provision

Interventions

Information provision BEHAVIORAL

All study participants will receive weekly messages with HIV prevention information.

Control group; Intervention group

Weekly quizzes BEHAVIORAL

Those in the intervention group receive a weekly quiz by text message that gains them points increasing their chances of winning a prize if answered correctly

Intervention group

Rewards for testing HIV-negative BEHAVIORAL

Those in the intervention group are entered into a prize drawing if they test HIV-negative at least once in a three-month period.

Intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Gender Eligibility Details: Self-identify as MSM (men who have sex with men) or TGW (transgender women)
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• own or have regular access to a smartphone
• self-identify as a Latino
• fluent in English or Spanish
• able to provide contact information for at least three tracking mechanisms (e.g., cell phone, email, address, friend's contact)
• HIV-negative

Sponsors & Collaborators

• RAND: lead
• Columbia University: collaborator
• Bienestar Human Services, Inc.: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Bienestar Human Services, Inc.

Los Angeles, California, 90022, United States

Location

Related Publications (2)

• MacCarthy S, Mendoza-Graf A, Wagner Z, L Barreras J, Kim A, Giguere R, Carballo-Dieguez A, Linnemayr S. The acceptability and feasibility of a pilot study examining the impact of a mobile technology-based intervention informed by behavioral economics to improve HIV knowledge and testing frequency among Latinx sexual minority men and transgender women. BMC Public Health. 2021 Feb 12;21(1):341. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10335-5.

  PMID: 33579242 DERIVED

• Linnemayr S, MacCarthy S, Kim A, Giguere R, Carballo-Dieguez A, Barreras JL. Behavioral economics-based incentives supported by mobile technology on HIV knowledge and testing frequency among Latino/a men who have sex with men and transgender women: Protocol for a randomized pilot study to test intervention feasibility and acceptability. Trials. 2018 Oct 5;19(1):540. doi: 10.1186/s13063-018-2867-1.

  PMID: 30290851 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

HIV Infections

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Blood-Borne Infections; Communicable Diseases; Infections; Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Lentivirus Infections; Retroviridae Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Genital Diseases; Urogenital Diseases; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes; Immune System Diseases

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: The statistician will clean the data and compile the analysis dataset. Before sending on to the principal investigator for the outcome analysis, any information allowing inferring treatment assignment will be removed, in particular the two intervention arms will receive a non-descriptive label such as group A and group B. This way, the analysis can be performed without knowing which group corresponds to the intervention group, and which to control.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 27, 2017
• First Posted: May 8, 2017
• Study Start: May 24, 2017
• Primary Completion: August 23, 2019
• Study Completion: August 23, 2019
• Last Updated: September 10, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-09

Locations

US (1)