Cell Phones for Bringing Gay Men From Internet to the Health Center
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Enrollment
- 400
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Number of participants who received an HIV test
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The rate of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remains high among Peruvian men who have sex with men (MSM), and new prevention programs should be developed to reach and provide sexual health services to more MSM. The Internet is a feasible medium both for recruiting participants and for implementing projects with MSM in Lima, Peru. Likewise, in Peru, mobile phones are promising tools for carrying out HIV-related interventions due to the high rate of mobile phone penetration. The Internet is a way to reach MSM who do not attend traditional health centers due to the stigma associated with being homosexual. Since mobile phones can be used to promote health, the investigators proposed to design, implement, and evaluate an intervention using text messages to promote HIV testing among Peruvian MSM recruited online. To achieve this objective, the investigators conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of a text message-based intervention to promote HIV testing among MSM in Lima recruited via the Internet.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Diagnostic
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- Male
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •Be male at birth
- •Be 18 years of age or older
- •Be a resident of Lima, Peru
- •Report having had sex (oral or anal) with another man in the past 12 months
- •Provide informed consent
- •Own a mobile phone
Exclusion Criteria
- •Report being HIV-positive
- •Have taken an HIV test within the past year
Arms & Interventions
Intervention arm
Participants received weekly text messages to promote health and HIV testing and were followed and supported by trained healthcare counselors through two-way communication. Participants were able to set up an appointment for HIV testing at no charge.
Intervention: Text message-based intervention (Behavioral)
Control arm
Participants were able to set up an appointment for HIV testing at no charge.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Number of participants who received an HIV test
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of the 6-month follow-up period
Having undergone HIV testing at one of the study-affiliated health centers
Secondary Outcomes
No secondary outcomes reported
Investigators
Luis Menacho Alvirio
Principal Investigator
Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia