The efficacy of using online narratives in changing HIV risk perceptions and behaviours among men who have sex with men in Hong Kong
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN14109784 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN14109784 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | RGC Ref No.14612615 |
- Submission date
- 28/08/2018
- Registration date
- 27/09/2018
- Last edited
- 01/12/2022
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Infections and Infestations
Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a major public health threat causing heavy social and medical costs. Although the prevalence of HIV in Hong Kong has been fairly stable over the past few years, the proportion of HIV cases attributed to unprotected homosexual and bisexual contacts have increased drastically. Behavioural interventions are needed to address the HIV burden among men who sex with men (MSM). Narrative persuasion (providing information in a story format) is proposed as a promising health communication approach to promote behavioural changes, but few studies have explored its efficacy in addressing HIV prevention.
This study, the HeHe Talks project, aims to investigate how well the narrative messages work in terms of reducing HIV risk behaviors among MSM in Hong Kong.
Who can participate?
Males aged 18 years or older who have engaged in anal sex with another man in the past 6 months, use the internet at least once per week, are able to read Chinese and are either HIV negative or status unknown
What does the study involve?
Participants will be randomly allocated to the intervention condition or the control one. All participants will watch six HIV prevention-themed videos on the study website, which are made available sequentially weekly. For the intervention group, the videos contain both narrative and didactic messages; whereas for the control group, the videos contain the didactic ones only.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The benefit of taking part is that participants will learn more about HIV prevention and may have a reduction in their HIV risk behaviours as a result. They will receive supermarket coupons as the compensation for their participation. There are no known risks to participants taking part in this study. Completing the intervention videos and evaluation surveys may cause fatigue among some participants.
Where is the study run from?
AIDS Concern Health Service Center, Hong Kong
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
May 2016 to October 2018
Who is funding the study?
General Research Funds by the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong
Who is the main contact?
Dr. Phoenix Kit-han, MO
phoenix.mo@cuhk.edu.hk
Contact information
Scientific
Room 508, School of Public Health, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong
Hong Kong
NA
Hong Kong
Study information
| Study design | Interventional single-centre two-arm single-blind randomised controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Internet/virtual |
| Study type | Prevention |
| Participant information sheet | https://hehetalks.com/about |
| Scientific title | Efficacy of the narrative persuasion intervention in changing HIV risk perceptions and behaviours among men who have sex with men in Hong Kong: an online randomised controlled trial |
| Study acronym | HeHe Talks |
| Study hypothesis | The aim of this study is to test the efficacy of online narratives in changing HIV risk perceptions and behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Hong Kong using a randomised controlled trial design. The specific objectives are as below: 1. To examine the efficacy of an online intervention involving narrative and didactic information about HIV prevention in reducing unprotected anal intercourse, increasing HIV/STI risk perceptions, improving condom social norms, increasing HIV testing behaviors, and increasing intentions to use condom and intentions to receive HIV testing among MSM, compared to the control group who will only receive online didactic information about HIV prevention. 2. To examine the information processing mechanisms underlying the potential efficacy of the intervention information. |
| Ethics approval(s) | Joint Chinese University of Hong Kong-New Territories East Cluster Clinical Research Ethics Committee, 03/06/2014, reference number: 2014.274-T |
| Condition | HIV prevention |
| Intervention | Participants will be randomly allocated to the intervention group or the control group using the web-based tool Research Randomizer. The multiple-session intervention will last for 6 weeks and both groups will be provided with six HIV-themed videos on the study website, which are made available sequentially weekly. For the intervention group, the videos contain both narrative and didactic messages; whereas for the control group, the videos contain the didactic ones only. Firsthand stories will be elicited from eligible MSM peers with diverse behavioral patterns and experiences of HIV/STI infection to generate collective narrative messages under six themes related to HIV prevention. Theme-equivalent didactic messages will then be developed accordingly. For the intervention group, the information will be related to reducing unprotected anal intercourse, increasing HIV/STI risk perceptions, improving condom social norms, increasing HIV testing behaviors, and increasing intentions to use condom and intentions to receive HIV testing among MSM. Efficacy outcomes will be measured at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1) and six-month follow-up (T2). |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | The following will be measured through an online self-administered survey (The HIV Preventive Behavior Survey) on the study website: 1. Unprotected anal intercourse: the frequency of condom use in both receptive and insertive anal sex with different types of sex partners (regular and non-regular partners) in the past 3 months at T0, during the intervention period at T1, and during the follow-up period at T2; and whether they had used a condom in the last sex encounter with the different types of sex partners. 2. HIV testing: whether they have taken part in HIV testing in the past six months at T0, during the intervention period at T1, and during the follow-up period at T2 |
| Secondary outcome measures | The following will be measured through an online self-administered survey (The HIV Preventive Behavior Survey) on the study website: 1. Cognitive correlates of behavioural outcomes, assessed at the baseline (T0), during the intervention period at T1 and during the follow-up period at T2: 1.1. Intention to use a condom 1.2. Perceived behavioural control over condom use 1.3. Condom social norms 1.4. Attitudes towards condom use 1.5. Risk perceptions about HIV/STIs 1.6. Self-efficacy about condom use 1.7. Intention to be tested for HIV 2. Measures of information processing mechanisms, assessed during the intervention period at T1 and during the follow-up period at T2: 2.1. Argument-based cognitive responses 2.2. Narrative responses |
| Overall study start date | 01/05/2016 |
| Overall study end date | 31/10/2018 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Other |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Sex | Male |
| Target number of participants | 118 for the intervention group and 118 for the control group. 236 participants in total |
| Participant inclusion criteria | 1. Male 2. Aged 18 years or older 3. Self-reported to have engaged in anal sex with another man in the past 6 months 4. Self-reported as a regular internet use (use the internet at least once per week) 5. Able to read Chinese |
| Participant exclusion criteria | Diagnosed as HIV positive prior to enrolment |
| Recruitment start date | 01/09/2017 |
| Recruitment end date | 15/03/2018 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Hong Kong
Study participating centre
Hong Kong
NA
Hong Kong
Sponsor information
Research council
7/F., Shui On Centre, 6-8 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Hong Kong
NA
Hong Kong
| Website | https://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/index.html |
|---|
Funders
Funder type
Not defined
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 31/12/2022 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Not expected to be made available |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Current publication and dissemination plan as of 27/04/2022: Methods for the intervention development, findings of process evaluation and efficacy evaluation will be published in the peer-reviewed journals and disseminated in the international conferences within 5 years of the end of the project. Previous publication and dissemination plan: Methods for the intervention development, findings of process evaluation and efficacy evaluation will be published in the peer-reviewed journals and disseminated in the international conferences within 3 years of the end of the project. |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not expected to be made available due to the confidentiality agreement made between the research team and MSM participants to address the ethical concern. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other publications | Intervention development | 16/09/2021 | 27/04/2022 | Yes | No |
| Abstract results | p384 | 23/08/2022 | 01/12/2022 | No | No |
| Protocol file | 01/12/2022 | No | No |
Additional files
Editorial Notes
01/12/2022: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. Uploaded protocol (not peer-reviewed) as an additional file.
2. Publication reference added.
27/04/2022: The following changes have been made:
1. The intention to publish date has been changed from 31/12/2018 to 31/12/2022 and the Publication and dissemination plan has been updated to reflect this change.
2. Publication reference added.
