A couple-based HIV prevention intervention for Latino men who have sex with men: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundLatino men who have sex with men (MSM) experienced a 13% increase in HIV diagnoses from 2010 to 2014, more than any other racial/ethnic subgroup of MSM in the United States. If current HIV diagnoses rates persist, about one in four Latino MSM in the United States will be diagnosed with HIV during their lifetime. Although some efficacious HIV prevention interventions for Latino MSM exist, none have focused on couples. This paper describes the protocol of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the preliminary efficacy of a couple-based HIV prevention intervention that is culturally tailored for Latino men and their same-sex partners.MethodsThe RCT will determine the preliminary efficacy of Connecting Latinos en Pareja (CLP) to increase the proportion of anal sex acts that are HIV protected (i.e., anal sex acts in which condoms, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), treatment as prevention (TasP), or a combination thereof, are used to reduce risk of HIV transmission). CLP builds upon previous couple-based interventions with white and black MSM by incorporating biomedical prevention techniques, such as PrEP and TasP, implementing a framework responsive to the couple’s serostatus, and addressing the socio-cultural factors that influence HIV risk among Latino MSM. We also include input from community stakeholders, members of the target population, and a community advisory board as part of intervention development. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, and 3- and 6-months post-intervention to examine the intervention effects on outcomes (HIV-protected sex acts), and factors potentially mediating or moderating intervention effects.DiscussionThis paper describes an innovative RCT that incorporates multiple HIV prevention techniques for Latino MSM in couples, regardless of serostatus. The ongoing involvement of community stakeholders, members of the target population, and a community advisory board is emphasized, and plans for widespread dissemination and application of findings into practice are discussed.Trial registrationTrial registration: NCT03048838. Registered on 3 February 2017.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-018-2582-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Changing Knowledge and Attitudes Towards HIV Treatment-as-Prevention and “Undetectable = Untransmittable”: A Systematic Review

“…We identified protocols in PubMed for two ongoing intervention trials of TasP/U = U interventions among Black and Latino MSM in the U.S. [ 89 , 90 ], as well as one cluster-randomized trial in South Africa that attempted to shift knowledge, norms, and behaviors related to TasP through a 3-year community-mobilization intervention [ 91 ]. A search of active trials on clinicaltrials.gov (HIV AND (TasP OR U = U)) revealed one additional study of an intervention to integrate U = U messaging into HIV counseling in South Africa (NCT04504357).…”

Association between Psychological Factors and Condom Use with Regular and Nonregular Male Sexual Partners among Chinese MSM: A Quantitative Study Based on the Health Belief Model

“…However, if the scope of behavior interventions excluded the psychological factors, it would be difficult to achieve the intervention goals. According to our results, taking same-sex partners as the education object to reduce relationship barriers related to condom use might be helpful to reinforce sexual safety responsibility regulations [ 34 ]. Furthermore, it is important to improve and increase the comfort of condom [ 35 ].…”

The Influence of Shared or Separate Partner Residence on HIV Testing Among Latino Immigrants in the United States

“…The physical separation of partners undoubtedly alters the contextual and cultural norms that shape the relationship. For example, communication, power, and family responsibilities have been shown to be critical in advancing health enhancing behavior changes among immigrant couples [27][28][29]. Yet, couples in separate residences may encounter difficulties in communication or fulfilment of family responsibilities due to the barrier of physical separation.…”