Help Us, Save Us! HIV/STI Prevention Intervention for High-Risk Black Men

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The incidence of HIV/AIDS among African American men who have sex with men (MSM) is alarming, and the public health response to this urgent situation has been hampered by a lack of sexual risk reduction interventions with solid evidence of efficacy in this population. Accordingly, the broad, long-term objective of the proposed research is to identify interventions to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infection (STI) among African American MSM. This is a collaborative effort by HIV/STI university-based researchers and Blacks Educating Blacks About Sexual Health Issues (BEBASHI), the oldest community-based organization (CBO) in the City of Philadelphia that has addressed HIV in the African American community, including MSM. This application seeks funds to develop and test the efficacy of a theory-based, contextually appropriate behavioral intervention to reduce sexual risk behavior among African American MSM. Intervention development will be guided by social cognitive theory, the theory of planned behavior, qualitative information from focus groups, and findings from a longitudinal survey of men from the study population. A one-on-one intervention will be utilized to address the specific prevention needs of each man and to allay participants' concerns about revealing their sexual involvement with men by virtue of participating in a group or workshop intervention. The study will utilize a randomized controlled trial design, with baseline, immediate post intervention, and 6 and 12 months post intervention assessments. The participants will be 594 African American MSM who will be randomized to a one-on-one sexual risk reduction intervention or a one-on-one health promotion intervention that will serve as the control condition. The primary outcome is consistent condom use during anal and vaginal intercourse. The specific aims concern the efficacy of the intervention in increasing consistent condom use during anal intercourse, the primary outcome, and testing the mediation of the effects of the intervention on consistent condom use. This study will provide an urgently needed intervention to reduce the risk of HIV and other STIs in one of the highest risk populations in the United States.