Online HIV prevention intervention on condomless sex among men who have sex with men: a web-based randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background Given the widespread use of the Internet among men who have sex with men (MSM) and high risk of Internet-facilitated sexual behaviors, Internet-based interventions to reduce sexual risk are urgently needed. Methods We recruited 1,100 participants from online and randomly assigned to two groups. One group received online HIV intervention services. Online HIV intervention was developed through mix-method formative research, measures included scenarios experiencing intervention and HIV information dissemination. Self-reported condomless anal sex with a male in the past three months was measured to evaluate the intervention effect. Result Of the 1,100 participants, the majority were aged between 21 and 30 years old (62%), had a college degree or higher (80%), were single (88%), and self-identified as homosexual (78%). The estimated risk difference of condomless sex with a male in the past three months between groups was 9.3% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1, 17.5%). Using multiple imputations intention-to-treat, the estimated risk difference was 8.9% (95%CI: 1.2, 16.6%). Modification effects were found between intervention and characteristics including: educational attainment ( p = 0.012), marital status ( p = 0.005) and awareness of AIDS-related knowledge ( p = 0.010). Conclusion Internet appears to be a promising approach to disseminate HIV prevention amongst MSM. Interactive online intervention appeals to MSM and poses a great potential for reducing HIV risky behavior. Trial registration ChiCTR1800014260 (retrospectively registered 2 Jan, 2018). Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-019-4251-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Knowledge and Perception of Reproductive Health Among Men Who Have Sex with Men

“…This could pose a collateral danger as lack of awareness about the benefits of wearing condoms can lead to casual exemptions when condoms are not available. Similar case with different cause has been identified in Asia [9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17], where those who wore condoms did so not because they were aware of the benefits the condoms provide in protecting them from sexually transmitted diseases. They did so more because they thought condoms protect them from direct skin-to-skin contact as a form of respect toward the partner or to lessen their guilt in cases where the sexual intercourse was a breach of faithfulness.…”

“…Another research was conducted by [17] to study the efficacy of online HIV prevention in China. This study was motivated by the high risk of Internet-facilitated sexual behaviors due to the increase of internet use among MSM.…”

eHealth Interventions to Address Sexual Health, Substance Use, and Mental Health Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: Systematic Review and Synthesis of Process Evaluations

“…Fun [ 68 ] and enjoyable [ 42 ] content increased acceptability, and the use of different types of content arose as a common theme influencing the acceptability. For example, in studies of medium [ 42 ] and high [ 49 , 59 , 63 , 67 ] reliability, participants tended to give positive feedback on the use of diverse contents [ 42 , 49 , 59 ] including animations, videos, graphics, and games [ 67 ] as well as on the interventions’ visual appearances [ 43 , 63 ]. In a high-reliability study of Rainbow SPARX, users were particularly positive about the computer game format and the intervention’s “look and feel” [ 63 ] as expressed by one user aged 13 years: “I liked, like, how it looked really shiny on my computer, and it looked like a completely different world” [ 13 ].…”

Research Progress in the Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in China

“…HIV was highly prevalent among those with illiteracy (16.8%), those in the southwest (10.7%), and those seeking partners in bathhouses/saunas (13.4%). The HIV incidence among MSM was around 5.0 per 100 person-years (PY) (4), varying from 3.5 to >10.0 per 100 PY (5)(6)(7)(8)(9). Some innovative interventions, including electronic or internet-based technologies, crowd-sourcing, preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), have recently been evaluated among MSM (10-12).…”

“…Some innovative interventions, including electronic or internet-based technologies, crowd-sourcing, preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), have recently been evaluated among MSM ( 10 - 12 ). Yun et al conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) showing that mobile phone interventions based on an HIV risk prediction tool is promising in promoting HIV testing and reducing high-risk behavior among MSM ( 13 ).…”