American Indian and Alaska Native Men Who Have Sex With Men HIV & Substance Abuse Research

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: HIV, Substance Use

In brief

This is a pilot study of the feasibility of the virtually reality, online, culturally grounded HIV prevention intervention for Native American men who have sex with men. The project will include 90 Native American men who have sex with men (MSM) from across the continental United States as well as Alaska and Hawaii. The investigators will use a randomized clinical trial with a waitlist control condition to evaluate the intervention's impact on HIV / Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) testing behavior, condom use, and substance use harm reduction. Specifically, investigators will ask participants to spend 3 weeks exploring a virtual reality environment hosted in the Second Life® platform. The island consists of 3 levels: Learning Level, Skills building level, and Experiential level. In the Learning level the participant's avatar will have the opportunity to attend up to 2 free Motivational Interviewing sessions to establish their goals for their time on the island. Additionally, they will explore 4 learning paths each covering a knowledge objective: HIV Testing, Condom Use \& Condom Use Negotiation, Safer Sex, and Harm Reduction. Each path will present knowledge via videos, interactive games, stories, and teachings. After completing level 1, participants will move on to the Skills building level. Here participants will have the opportunity to role play scenarios (e.g., obtaining an HIV test, requesting PrEP from their doctor, negotiating condom use) with pre-program virtual actors. All scenarios are based on the knowledge gained in the Learning Level. Participants will also engage on mini-quests for additional knowledge and in-world rewards. Finally, in the third level participants will be able to practice the skills learned in interactions with other participants' avatars. If efficacious, this online HIV prevention intervention has the potential for widespread dissemination and could be particularly helpful for rural and reservation-based Native MSM who often have difficulty accessing services and support.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT03049904

Run by

University of Washington

People needed

79

Starts

2017-02-19

Expected to finish

2018-03-30

Last updated by the study team

2018-04-30

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: male. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• 18 years old or older
• Self-identified as American Indian or Alaska Native
• Either: enrolled in their Tribe; eligible for enrollment in their Tribe; OR at least ¼ blood quantum (across all tribes).
• Male (assigned "male" gender at birth or assigned "female" gender at birth but now identify as "male")
• Have access to a computer with internet access and the ability to download the Second Life® software.
• Reside within the United States of America
• Have engaged in sexual intercourse with a man in the previous 3 months.
• Have used substance (drugs or alcohol) in the previous 3 months.
• Either unknown HIV status or HIV negative.

You may not qualify if…

• Suicidal ideation, plan, or attempt in the previous 2 weeks.
• Women
• Younger than 18 years old
• Non-Native American

Where it is running

• University of Washington — Seattle, Washington, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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