The effectiveness of a group-based computerized HIV/STI prevention intervention for black women who use drugs in the criminal justice system: study protocol for E-WORTH (Empowering African-American Women on the Road to Health), a Hybrid Type 1 randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundThis paper describes the study protocol of a hybrid type I randomized controlled trial that evaluates the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of implementing Empowering African-American Women on the Road to Health (E-WORTH), an Afrocentric, group-based, computerized human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention intervention for controlled substance-using black women in community corrections settings in New York City.Methods/designWe provide an overview of E-WORTH’s hybrid type I design, which is guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). E-WORTH combines HIV/STI and intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention components and tests the comparative effectiveness of E-WORTH and streamlined HIV testing versus streamlined HIV testing alone in decreasing biologically confirmed HIV and STI incidence, sexual risk, and IPV, as well as in improving access to HIV and STI prevention services and care.DiscussionThis paper provides an overview of E-WORTH’s intervention protocol and serves as a framework for using hybrid type I designs, guided by the CFIR conceptual framework, to evaluate HIV/STI and IPV prevention interventions in community corrections settings. We discuss how E-WORTH’s hybrid type I design advances implementation science through its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness aims as well as through a mixed-methods study that evaluates multilevel theory-driven factors (structural, organizational, staffing, and client) guided by the CFIR that influences the implementation of E-WORTH in a criminal justice setting. This study also addresses the novel challenges and opportunities of implementing an intervention that targets specific racial subgroup(s) in a community corrections setting that services all populations, implementing a group-based intervention with technological components in such settings, and employing community-based participatory research strategies to guide recruitment and retention efforts.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02391233. Registered on 17 March 2015.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-018-2792-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Web-Based and mHealth Interventions for Intimate Partner Violence Victimization Prevention: A Systematic Review

“…Four studies (Choo et al, 2016; Humphreys, Tsoh, Kohn, & Gerbert, 2011; Klevens et al, 2012; Klevens, Sadowski, Kee, Garcia, & Lokey, 2015) additionally enhanced the waiting-room screening tools via personalized feedback using written messages or animated avatars (including a cartoon parrot and a video doctor) to encourage victims to speak to their providers during their visit. One study (Littleton, Grills, Kline, Schoemann, & Dodd, 2016) described an online support group for victims of sexual assault, including those assaulted by a current or former intimate partner; other group-involved interventions included women using tablets individually to complete self-paced modules during a group educational session (Gilbert et al, 2015, 2016; Johnson et al, 2018). Solutions to connect health-care providers—specifically mental health-care providers—to current or former victims of IPV included e-mail- and video-delivery of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT; Gray et al, 2015; Hassija & Gray, 2011; Hesser et al, 2017) or else video-mediated triage into appropriate services (Thomas et al, 2005), particularly for rural IPV victims.…”

“…We define mHealth as Internet- or technology-mediated approaches to provision of health resources or interventions. Primary intervention through educational tools may be more easily disseminated over the Internet- and web-based media that are already used by target populations (Johnson et al, 2018). Physicians and other providers may have more success identifying individuals in need of IPV prevention services when waiting room screenings are completed on a computer or tablet rather than using a paper form (Klevens et al, 2012).…”

Evaluating the implementation of a prisoner re-entry initiative for individuals with opioid use and mental health disorders: Application of the consolidated framework for implementation research in a cross-system initiative

“…The timely, actionable findings allowed for a rapid-cycle approach to evaluation in which ongoing feedback was provided to program stakeholders to support learning, adaptation, and continuous quality improvement (Keith et al, 2017). The framework has also been used to study the implementation of substance use treatment programs (Sorensen & Kosten, 2011) and HIV programming for women in community corrections (Johnson et al, 2018). Another study applied the framework to categorize and interpret the processes involved in the adoption of the XR-NTX injection at nine addiction treatment centers contracted with a singular health plan and found that it effectively captured relevant issues related to authorization processes, provider networks, and organizational culture (Alanis-Hirsch et al, 2016).…”

Distance Learning and Social Issues

“…Using the technology-based platform in DL is a means of achieving a wider audience and thus allowing: i) monitoring quality and ensuring uniformity of the information provided, ii) training entire teams of a local community, iii) reaching a much larger number of participants and iv) increasing capacity of professionals to reduce violence in their communities (Hertz et al, 2008). Some authors suggested that the use of educational tools to primary intervention may be more easily disseminated over the Internet-and web-based media (Johnson et al, 2018). Tarzia and collaborators (2015) have also recognized web-based interventions for survivors of IPV as an alternative to f2f approaches, allowing to overcome some of the barriers that often interfere with the seek for help.…”