We developed an easily administered and scored 7-item screening index with a cutoff that is predictive of HIV seroconversion in 2 large prospective cohorts of US men who have sex with men. The index can be used to prioritize patients for intensive HIV prevention efforts (eg, preexposure prophylaxis).

Introduction In an analysis of baseline findings of an HIV incidence cohort study, an assessment was made of HIV prevalence among persons presenting for enrollment and any differences in demographic characteristics between persons not enrolled compared to those enrolled. We also described and compared HIV risk behaviors in males and females enrolled in the study. Methodology A computer-assisted survey was administered to collect baseline demographic and HIV risk data from 1,277 men and women aged 18–34 years. Testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) was conducted. Out of 1,277 persons prescreened for eligibility, 625 were enrolled. Results HIV prevalence of all persons who completed screening was 14.8% (females: 21.1%; males: 8.1%). The odds of being enrolled in the study were higher for persons 18–24 years compared to those 30–34 years of age [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=2.18, CI=1.13, 4.21] and males compared to females [AOR=2.07, CI=1.43, 2.99]. Among those enrolled in the study, the most prevalent HIV risk behaviors were unprotected sex (49%), alcohol use (45%), and transactional sex (30%) in the last three months. Compared to females, a significantly greater proportion of males reported using any alcohol or recreational drug in the last three months, a history of oral sex, sex with partner other than a spouse or main partner, ever having a blood transfusion, ever being treated for an STI, and having knowledge of their last HIV test result. Conclusion The Kisumu Field Station successfully recruited individuals with HIV risk characteristics for the HIV incidence cohort study.

A combination of in-depth interviews (n = 38) and surveys (n = 203) were used to (1) identify strategies to recruit persons at high risk for HIV infection; (2) determine whether one strategy was more successful than others; and (3) describe motivators and barriers to participation in HIV-prevention studies. From in-depth interviews, four main recruitment strategies were identified: (1) use of a person with specific knowledge of a target population (link person mobilization); (2) use of co-workers or contemporaries (peer mobilization); (3) use of group or association leaders (leader mobilization); and (4) contacting persons by study staff directly (staff contact mobilization). The odds of inconsistently using condoms during sex were greater among those recruited using the peer mobilization (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.59; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.35-9.54) and the leader mobilization strategies (AOR = 2.76; 95% CI = 1.04-7.38) compared with the link person mobilization strategy. The main motivators for taking part in an HIV research study were receiving HIV-prevention education, HIV information or counselling, and receiving compensation for study participation. The main barriers were fear of lack of confidentiality and HIV testing concerns. Using evaluated strategies to recruit persons at high risk for HIV infection and addressing barriers to participation will improve the conduct and outcome of HIV-prevention studies.