PROMOTING EARLY DETECTION OF HIV AMONG HISPANIC MSM

University Of Miami School Of Medicine, Coral Gables FL

Investigators

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from Applicant's Abstract): The primary goal of the study is to develop and test a theoretically-based, empirically-informed, and culturally appropriate message to encourage Hispanic men who have sex with men (HMSM) to get tested for HIV and to learn their current serostatus. The study integrates the theory of vested interest (Crano, 1995) with a socio-cultural theory of HIV risk (Diaz, 1998) to explore factors that hinder testing behaviors among men who hold strong positive attitudes about the benefits of HIV testing. The study is conducted in two phases. venues. Participants will be interviewed about their attitudes toward HIV testing, their HIV testing history, and factors that are hypothesized to moderate the relationship between attitudes and behavior. Logistic regression analyses will identify which factors most strongly distinguish those men who have been recently tested for HIV from those men who have not. (In this application, recently tested refers to men who have been tested and have returned for their test results in the last 12 months) These data will be used to develop a persuasive message. The message will be tested for strength on an additional sample of 100 HMSM, refined if required and tested for efficacy in Phase 2. In Phase 2, the investigators employ a post-test only design to experimentally test the efficacy of the persuasive message to increase rates of recent testing (testing and returning for the results) among HMSM. The investigators will randomly assign a sample of 600 HMSM, recruited from community venues, to one of three conditions: Condition 1: written message plus HIV test offer; Condition 2: audio message plus HIV test offer; or Condition 3: HIV test 3offer only. Logistic regression analyses will test whether rates of recent testing (test acceptance and return for results) differ as a function of condition. They will also examine whether the efficacy of different conditions written vs. audio) varies by level of acculturation.