Project Nexus: Providing Online Counseling for Home-Based HIV Testing

NCT ID: NCT02335138

Last Updated: 2019-10-21

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

800 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2016-04-30

Study Completion Date

2019-09-30

Brief Summary

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The proposed research aims to address the question: Compared to the current standard of care for home-based HIV tests, in which persons conduct and interpret HIV tests without counseling, does the addition of video conferencing with a remote counselor increase health-enhancing, protective behaviors among male-male couples and facilitate linkage to care for those who test positive?

Detailed Description

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The investigators propose to address four specific aims through a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to take place over a four-year period. The investigators plan to enroll and maintain a cohort of 350 men who have sex with men (MSM) couples: 175 self-reported concordant HIV-negative and 175 self-reported HIV-discordant couples. Within this sample, the proposed study will examine the impact of home-testing with video-based Couples HIV Testing and Counseling (CHTC) (intervention) versus home-testing alone (control) on changes in: sexual risk-taking (e.g., UAI), formation and adherence to explicit agreements about sex, relationship functioning for the management of HIV risk, and linkage to care for newly diagnosed HIV positives among MSM couples who live throughout the US. To assess these specific changes, couples will complete online surveys at 3 time points (baseline, 3 months and 6 months).

Conditions

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Couples

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

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Control Arm

Each participant will receive an at-home test kit and will be asked to test and return results to investigator.

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

at-home test kit

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Male couples in the control group will receive test kits, but will not receive any testing intervention. Once individual results are reported,participants will be contacted via phone by study staff with options for referrals to services for the reactive partner(s). Participants will complete follow-up surveys at 3 and 6 months post-testing.

Intervention Arm

Each participant will receive an at-home test kit and will be asked to take the test in conjunction with an online CHTC session.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Couples HIV Testing and Counseling (CHTC, CVCT)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Male couples randomized to the experimental group (Couples HIV Testing and Counseling, CHTC/CVCT) will receive HIV counseling and testing as a couple via an online, HIPPA-compliant videoconferencing service. The dyad-centered session will last less than one hour and focus on couples agreement, prevention strategies, and/or linkage to HIV care, depending on each couple's test results. Participants will complete follow-up surveys at 3 and 6 months post-testing.

Interventions

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Couples HIV Testing and Counseling (CHTC, CVCT)

Male couples randomized to the experimental group (Couples HIV Testing and Counseling, CHTC/CVCT) will receive HIV counseling and testing as a couple via an online, HIPPA-compliant videoconferencing service. The dyad-centered session will last less than one hour and focus on couples agreement, prevention strategies, and/or linkage to HIV care, depending on each couple's test results. Participants will complete follow-up surveys at 3 and 6 months post-testing.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

at-home test kit

Male couples in the control group will receive test kits, but will not receive any testing intervention. Once individual results are reported,participants will be contacted via phone by study staff with options for referrals to services for the reactive partner(s). Participants will complete follow-up surveys at 3 and 6 months post-testing.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

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CHTC, CVCT

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Male sex at birth
* Male gender
* 18 or older
* In a relationship with a male sexual partner of duration six months or longer
* Negative or unknown HIV status and not having tested in the last 6 months, with a partner meeting the same criteria OR in a sero-discordant with the negative/unknown partner reporting not having tested in the past 6 months
* No recent (past year) severe intimate partner violence (IPV) reported within the couple. IPV will be determined by responses to the below questions, in addition to parallel questions addressing perpetration of the specified acts:

1. Excluding consensual acts such as mutually agreed upon BDSM, in the past year, how many times has \[your partner\] punched, hit, or slapped you?
2. Excluding consensual acts such as mutually agreed upon BDSM, in the past year, how many times has \[your partner\] kicked you?
3. Excluding consensual acts such as mutually agreed upon BDSM, in the past year, how many times has \[your partner\] used force or threats of force to make you do something sexual that you didn't want to do?
4. Excluding consensual acts such as mutually agreed upon BDSM, in the past year, how many times has \[your partner\] raped you? \[Follow up question: Do you feel safe in your relationship?\]
* Willingness to have HIV test kits delivered to a home address they provide
* Willingness to be tested for HIV with one's male sexual partner
* Willingness to be randomized to either study arm
* Willingness and ability to participate in video-based counseling (must have a computer or tablet with video and audio capabilities, Internet access)

Exclusion Criteria

* Sex at birth other than male
* Gender other than male
* Either partner aged 17 or younger
* Does not have a main male sex partner or has a main male sex partner of relationship duration less than 6 months
* Both partners within the couple report known, positive HIV status OR one or both partners reports having tested negative for HIV within 6 months
* Either partner reports experiencing or perpetrating intimate partner violence within the couple within the past year
* Either partner expresses unwillingness to have HIV test kits delivered to a home address
* Either partner expresses unwillingness to test for HIV together with his male sexual partner
* Either partner expresses unwillingness to be randomized
* Unwillingness or inability to participate in video-based counseling
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

MALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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University of Miami

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Rochester

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Michigan

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Robert Stephenson

Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Rob Stephenson, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Michigan School of Nursing Department of Health Behavior and Biological Sciences

Locations

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University of Michigan Center for Sexuality & Health Disparities (SexLab)

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Stephenson R, Freeland R, Sullivan SP, Riley E, Johnson BA, Mitchell J, McFarland D, Sullivan PS. Home-Based HIV Testing and Counseling for Male Couples (Project Nexus): A Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2017 May 30;6(5):e101. doi: 10.2196/resprot.7341.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 28559225 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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IRB00072655

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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