GPS: Adaptation Trial of an HIV Prevention Counselling Program for HIV-positive and HIV-negative Gay and Bisexual Men

Toronto Metropolitan University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Sexually Transmitted Infection; Health Behavior; HIV/AIDS

Treatments: Behavioral: GPS program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03186183

REB 2016-282

Details and patient eligibility

About

GPS is a sexual health promotion and HIV prevention peer-delivered counselling program. The GPS program has 4 parts: information provision about HIV and sexually transmitted infections, motivational interviewing counselling, sexual health behavioural skills building, and linkage to care. The adaptation grant has three goals: 1) to establish a multi-region and multi-sectoral team that can deliver the revised program across a variety of settings, 2) to learn how best to deliver this program as individual counselling program and also how to adapt this program for HIV-negative MSM, and 3) to pilot the individual program in 5 settings across Ontario and British Columbia. The research team will evaluate the pilot adaptation through mixed methods, employing a quantitative questionnaire and one-on-one semi-structured interviews.

Enrollment: 50 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• aged 18 years or older
• self-identify as a man
• self-identify as gay, bisexual, queer, same-gender-loving, or a man who has sex with men
• report having engaged in condomless anal sex in the last 3 months
• able to speak, read, and aurally comprehend English
• depending on the study site, report HIV-negative or HIV-positive status

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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50 participants in 1 patient group

GPS program

Experimental group

Description:

The individual GPS motivational interviewing counseling program has 4-6 sessions. Week 1: information on sexually transmitted infections and HIV disclosure laws is reviewed. Participants are introduced to the sex diary, stress exercise, and stages of change model. Week 2: a decisional balance exercise about the participant's current sexual behavior is completed and a behavioral goal is chosen. Week 3: participants explore their greatest fears and hopes about the goal, and the importance of and their confidence in achieving it. Week 4: the facilitator and participant identify triggers, automatic thoughts, counters, strategies, supports, and rewards pertaining to the pursuit of the goal and role play the new goal. 1-2 supplemental sessions may be added as needed.

Treatment:

Behavioral: GPS program