Personalized Normative Feedback to Increase HIV Testing

NCT ID: NCT06969677

Last Updated: 2025-05-14

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 1300 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-11-02
• Study Completion Date: 2025-01-06

Brief Summary

Randomized trial to measure the effect of personalized normative feedback about local HIV testing rates and local rates of HIV-related stigma on self-reported HIV testing intentions and perceptions about others' HIV testing intentions.

Detailed Description

HIV testing is a vital step in identifying and treating HIV. Research in rural Uganda reveals underestimation of community HIV testing rates and overestimation of HIV-related stigma among adults. At the same time, perceived norms (i.e., estimated rates regardless of their accuracy) are associated with personal HIV testing behavior and personal HIV-related attitudes.

This study employs a randomized controlled trial to evaluate how providing accurate information about local descriptive (i.e., behavioral) norms and local injunctive (i.e., attitudinal) norms affect HIV testing intentions. Participants are randomly assigned to one of four treatment arms: (1) they are reminded of what they thought community testing rates were in their village and then receive accurate information about high community testing rates, (2) they are reminded of what they thought local stigma rates were in their village and then receive accurate information about positive community perceptions of persons with HIV, (3) they are reminded of what they thought community testing rates and local stigma rates were in their village and then receive both types of accurate normative information, or (4) they are reminded of what they thought community testing rates were in their village and receive no further information (control group).

The study assesses how providing this type of personalized normative feedback within cohort-based data collection affects personal reports about getting tested for HIV in the next 12 months and how it affects perceptions about how many men and women in the same village will get tested for HIV in the next 12 months. It is hypothesized that providing accurate information about local community testing rates and/or attitudes toward persons with HIV will increase reported personal willingness to get tested (primary outcome) and improve the accuracy of estimated community testing rates in the future (secondary outcome).

Conditions

HIV Testing; HIV Stigma

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

V1: Control Group

As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific prompts. The first prompt states the participant's perceived estimate (elicited previously during the survey) of HIV testing rates among single and married people in their village. No other norms-based information is provided.

Participants are then asked to report their likelihood of getting tested for HIV in the next 12 months, ranging from 1= I will definitely get tested to 5= I will definitely not get tested. Next they are asked to estimate the rate of HIV testing in the next 12 months among men and women in their village, ranging from 1 = All or almost all, at least 90% of group to 5= Very few, or no one, for example, less than 10% of group.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Survey questionnaire

Intervention Type: OTHER

Each version of the questionnaire has similar questions about personal HIV testing intentions and perceived norms about other men and women's HIV testing intentions. The content of the prompt presented prior to the questions varies based on treatment arm.

This version does not provide any normative feedback information.

V2: PNF - Descriptive norms only

As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific treatments. The second treatment is a survey-based questionnaire with a prompt stating the participant's perceived estimate (elicited previously during the survey) of HIV testing rates among single and married people in their village. Participants are then provided with the true rates of HIV testing among men and women in their village, along with information that these rate are consistent across demographic groups.

Participants are then asked to report their likelihood of getting tested for HIV in the next 12 months, ranging from 1= I will definitely get tested to 5= I will definitely not get tested. Next they are asked to estimate the rates of HIV testing in the next 12 months among men and women in their village, ranging from 1 = All or almost all, at least 90% of group to 5= Very few, or no one, for example, less than 10% of group.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Survey questionnaire

Intervention Type: OTHER

Each version of the questionnaire has similar questions about personal HIV testing intentions and perceived norms about other men and women's HIV testing intentions. The content of the prompt presented prior to the questions varies based on treatment arm.

This version provides personalized normative feedback with descriptive norms information about local HIV testing rates.

V3: PNF - Injunctive norms only

As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific treatments. The third treatment is a survey-based questionnaire with a prompt stating the participant's perceived estimate (elicited previously during the survey) of HIV testing rates among single and married people in their village. Participants are then provided with information about the true rates of HIV stigma in their village.

Participants are then asked to report their likelihood of getting tested for HIV in the next 12 months, ranging from 1= I will definitely get tested to 5= I will definitely not get tested. Next they are asked to estimate the rate of HIV testing in the next 12 months among men and women in their community, ranging from 1 = All or almost all, at least 90% of group to 5= Very few, or no one, for example, less than 10% of group.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Survey questionnaire

Intervention Type: OTHER

Each version of the questionnaire has similar questions about personal HIV testing intentions and perceived norms about other men and women's HIV testing intentions. The content of the prompt presented prior to the questions varies based on treatment arm.

This version provides personalized normative feedback with injunctive norms information about local HIV stigma rates.

V4: PNF - Descriptive and injunctive norms

As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific treatments. The fourth treatment is a survey-based questionnaire with a prompt stating the participant's perceived estimate (elicited previously during the survey) of HIV testing rates among single and married people in their village. Participants are then provided with information about the true rates of both HIV testing and HIV stigma in their village.

Participants are then asked to report their likelihood of getting tested for HIV in the next 12 months, ranging from 1= I will definitely get tested to 5= I will definitely not get tested. Next they are asked to estimate the rate of HIV testing in the next 12 months among men and women in their community, ranging from 1 = All or almost all, at least 90% of group to 5= Very few, or no one, for example, less than 10% of group.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Survey questionnaire

Intervention Type: OTHER

Each version of the questionnaire has similar questions about personal HIV testing intentions and perceived norms about other men and women's HIV testing intentions. The content of the prompt presented prior to the questions varies based on treatment arm.

This version provides personalized normative feedback with descriptive and injunctive norms information about both local HIV testing rates and local HIV stigma rates.

Interventions

Survey questionnaire

Each version of the questionnaire has similar questions about personal HIV testing intentions and perceived norms about other men and women's HIV testing intentions. The content of the prompt presented prior to the questions varies based on treatment arm.

This version does not provide any normative feedback information.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Survey questionnaire

Each version of the questionnaire has similar questions about personal HIV testing intentions and perceived norms about other men and women's HIV testing intentions. The content of the prompt presented prior to the questions varies based on treatment arm.

This version provides personalized normative feedback with descriptive norms information about local HIV testing rates.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Survey questionnaire

Each version of the questionnaire has similar questions about personal HIV testing intentions and perceived norms about other men and women's HIV testing intentions. The content of the prompt presented prior to the questions varies based on treatment arm.

This version provides personalized normative feedback with injunctive norms information about local HIV stigma rates.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Survey questionnaire

Each version of the questionnaire has similar questions about personal HIV testing intentions and perceived norms about other men and women's HIV testing intentions. The content of the prompt presented prior to the questions varies based on treatment arm.

This version provides personalized normative feedback with descriptive and injunctive norms information about both local HIV testing rates and local HIV stigma rates.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• All adults who consider Nyakabare their primary place of residence and who are capable of providing consent

Exclusion Criteria

• Minors younger than 18 years of age, with the exception of emancipated minors
• Persons who do not consider Nyakabare Parish their primary place of residence, e.g. persons who happen to be visiting Nyakabare at the time of the survey or who own a home in Nyakabare but spend most of their time outside of the parish
• Persons with psychosis, neurological damage, acute intoxication, or other cognitive impairment (all of which are determined informally in the field by non-clinical research staff in consultation with a supervisor)

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Mbarara University of Science and Technology

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Massachusetts General Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Alexander Tsai

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Alexander C Tsai, MD, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Massachusetts General Hospital

Locations

Mbarara University of Science and Technology

Mbarara, , Uganda

Countries

Uganda

Other Identifiers

R01MH125667

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

2013P000395_4

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id