Feasibility of Delivering Evidence-Based HIV/STI Prevention Programming to a Community Sample of African American Teen Girls Via the Internet

Abstract

The current study examined the feasibility of an HIV/STI prevention intervention for African American female adolescents. The intervention, SiHLEWeb, is a web-based adaptation of the evidence-based intervention, Sistas, Informing, Healing, Living, and Empowering (SiHLE). Participants were 41 African-American girls aged 13 to 18 years, recruited in collaboration with community partners (local high schools, Department of Juvenile Justice, child advocacy center, medical university). Results support the feasibility of recruitment, screening, and follow-up retention methods. The majority (63.4%) of recruited participants completed the intervention, taking an average of 4.5 site visits. Completers of SiHLEWeb demonstrated increases in knowledge regarding HIV/STI risks and risk reduction behavior, as well as significant increases in condom use self-efficacy. Findings provide preliminary support for the large-scale, randomized-controlled trial of the efficacy of SiHLEWeb to reduce high-risk sexual behavior among female African-American adolescents.

SiHLEWeb.com: Development and usability testing of an evidence-based HIV prevention website for female African-American adolescents

“…Specifically, we sought to determine if a community sample of girls would indeed log onto SiHLE Web and complete its content in their natural environment (e.g., home). Results from the feasibility trial were promising, with 88% logging onto the website at least once and the majority (63.4%) completing the site in its entirety (45). Encouraged by the results of both usability and feasibility testing, next steps in the evaluation of SiHLE Web include larger scale investigation of the effectiveness of the website in preventing HIV risk behaviors through an RCT.…”

General and health-related Internet use among an urban, community-based sample of HIV-positive women: implications for intervention development

“…Additionally, prior research has shown that Internet use is common among HIV-positive persons in the USA (Mayben & Giordano, 2007; Thomas & Shuter, 2010), paralleling trends seen in the broader USA population (Brenner & Smith, 2013). Online interventions have been increasingly used to deliver HIV-related primary prevention (Adam et al, 2011; Bull, Pratte, Whitesell, Rietmeijer, & McFarlane, 2009; Danielson et al, 2013; Hightow-Weidman et al, 2012; Hirshfield et al, 2012; Rhodes et al, 2011; Rosser et al, 2010; Young et al, 2013) and secondary prevention (Horvath et al, 2013; Marhefka et al, 2013; Shegog, Markham, Leonard, Bui, & Paul, 2012) interventions and have focused on providing education, risk reduction skills training, and/or peer support to promote behavior change. However, with one exception (Marhefka et al, 2013), all have targeted either adolescents and/or men who have sex with men.…”

HIV-infected Women's Perspectives on the Use of the Internet for Social Support: A Potential Role for Online Group-based Interventions

“…To complicate matters, women with HIV are disproportionately African American or Latina and overwhelmingly socioeconomically disadvantaged, factors that are associated with lower rates of Internet use (Zickuhr & Smith, 2012). These challenges may, in part, explain why most HIV-related online interventions have been tailored for men who have sex with men (MSM) or adolescents (Bull, Levine, Black, Schmiege, & Santelli, 2012; Danielson et al, 2013; Hightow-Weidman et al, 2012; Hirshfield et al, 2012; Horvath et al, 2013; Rosser et al, 2010; Young et al, 2013). …”