Evaluating an Innovative HIV Self-testing Service With Counseling Provided by a Chatbot

Not Applicable

Not yet recruiting

• Conditions: Behaviors, Health
• Interventions: Behavioral: HIVST-Chatbot (HIV self-testing services with counseling provided by a Chatbot); Behavioral: HIVST-OIC (HIV self-testing services with counseling provided by administrators)

• Registration Number: NCT05796622
• Lead Sponsor: Chinese University of Hong Kong

Brief Summary

A parallel-group non-inferiority randomized controlled trial will then be conducted to evaluate the performance of HIVST-Chatbot. A total of 528 Hong Kong Chinese speaking men who have sex with men (MSM) aged ≥18 years who have access to live-chat applications are recruited from multiple sources. Those who are diagnosed as HIV positive are excluded. Participants are 1:1 randomized into the intervention group (n=264) or the control group (n=264). The research team will implement the HIVST-Chatbot (HIVST services with real-time counselling provided by a fully-automated artificial intelligence Chatbot) in the intervention group and HIVST-OIC (HIVST with real-time counselling provided by trained administrators) in the control group. Participants completed two telephone surveys at baseline and six months afterwards.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2023-03
• Study First Submitted: 2023-03-20
• Study First Submitted QC: 2023-03-31
• Last Update Submitted: 2023-03-31
• Study First Posted: 2023-04-03
• Last Update Posted: 2023-04-03
• Study Start: 2023-04-16
• Primary Completion: 2024-02-28
• Study Completion: 2024-02-28

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Sex: Male
• Target Recruitment: 564

Inclusion Criteria

• Hong Kong Chinese-speaking men aged at least 18 years old
• Having had anal intercourse with at least one man in the past six months
• Willing to leave contact information and be followed up at Month 6
• Having access to the online live-chat application (WhatsApp)
• Not intending to leave Hong Kong for one month consecutively within the next six months

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Exclusion Criteria

• Self-reported as HIV positive

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
HIVST-Chatbot (HIV self-testing services with counseling provided by a Chatbot)	HIVST-Chatbot (HIV self-testing services with counseling provided by a Chatbot)	Promote and implement HIV self-testing (HIVST) services with real-time counselling provided by a fully-automated artificial intelligence Chatbot (HIVST-Chatbot)
HIVST-OIC (HIV self-testing services with counseling provided by administrators)	HIVST-OIC (HIV self-testing services with counseling provided by administrators)	Promote and implement HIV self-testing (HIVST) services with real-time counselling provided by trained administrators)

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Proportion of HIV self-testing users receiving counselling along with testing	6 months	Proportion of HIV self-testing users receiving counselling along with testing during the 6-month follow-up period
Uptake of HIV self-testing	6 months	Proportion of participants who use HIV self-testing during the 6-month follow-up period

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Centre for Health Behaviours Research, the Chinese University of Hong Kong; 🇭🇰 Hong Kong, Hong Kong