Blued Pilot App in China
- Conditions
- Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis
- Registration Number
- NCT06647173
- Lead Sponsor
- Emory University
- Brief Summary
The proposed research includes a longitudinal pilot study to assess the feasibility and acceptability of Blued+. This combination HIV prevention intervention will integrate a combination package of HIV prevention services into Blued, a gay dating App, for men who have sex with men (MSM) in China.
Despite high HIV incidence among MSM, HIV prevention interventions such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use remains low in China. If the HIV prevention intervention services provided through the Blued+ App prove feasible and acceptable, the pilot test will facilitate the design of a larger study of intervention efficacy.
The study population will be self-reported HIV-negative Blued users who are 18 years of age or greater, were assigned a male sex at birth, report having anal sex with a man in the last 6 months, eligible for PrEP according to China's consensus statement, and reside in metropolitan Beijing or Chengdu, China.
- Detailed Description
The pilot study will be an interrupted time series cohort of 400 MSM. In two cities, a three-month baseline standard of care (SOC) period with measurement at 0 and 3 months will be followed by a 12-month intervention period with the measurement at 6, 9, 12, and 15 months.
During the intervention, enrolled study participants will take surveys every 3 months, as well as have free access to the enhanced version of the Blued App, Blued+, which additionally provides HIV prevention intervention services such as HIV health messages, PrEP drugs, at-home HIV self-testing kits, condoms, and lubricants for no costs. Participants interested in PrEP will be required to have additional PrEP initiation physical exam clinical visits, follow-up clinical visits, and dry blood spot collection lab visits for blood PrEP level measurements.
The total study period is 15 months (3 months control run-in period and 12 months intervention). Online surveys are provided over the study period, 2 for the enrollment and basement, and 4 follow-ups for every 3 months of the intervention; physical exam visits are required for participants who chose to initiate and refill PrEP; 1 dry blood spot collection visit is provided for participants who chose to measure blood PrEP level.
The participants will be recruited online through the Blued App.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- Male
- Target Recruitment
- 423
- Registered Blued app user
- ≥18 years of age
- Male sex at birth
- Self-report anal sex with a man in the last 6 months
- HIV-negative or unknown HIV status
- Behaviorally eligible for PrEP per published China guidance
- Able to complete study instruments in Mandarin Chinese
- Resident of the metropolitan area of Beijing or Chengdu, China
- Eligible for PrEP based on China's consensus statement
- Additional Inclusion criteria apply for PrEP
- Not a registered Blued app user
- <18 years of age
- Not male sex at birth
- Does not report anal sex with a man in the last 6 months
- Has previously tested positive for HIV
- Not eligible for PrEP per published China guidance
- Unable to complete study instruments in Mandarin Chinese
- Not a resident of the metropolitan area of Beijing or Chengdu, China
- Currently enrolled in another HIV prevention study
- Evidence of fraudulent participation, such as a duplicate IP address, multiple screening attempts, duplicate emails, etc.
- Additional Inclusion criteria apply for PrEP
Study & Design
- Study Type
- OBSERVATIONAL
- Study Design
- Not specified
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Feasibility of Blued+ in China 12 months after intervention The intervention will be determined to be feasible if a minimum proportion of participants receive services for home HIV testing (benchmark ≥30%), and PrEP prescription (benchmark ≥20%)
Acceptability of Blued+ in China 12 months after intervention The intervention will be considered acceptable if it reaches a systems usability scale rating benchmark score of 'good' (≥71 out of 100) and Likert component mean rating benchmark of 'acceptable' (≥3 out of 5).
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
BlueD
🇨🇳Beijing, China