NCT03352219: RC

Reality Check: An HIV Risk Reduction Serial Drama

Completed NA Last updated 24 November 2017

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Reality Check in HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) in 203 participants. Completed in 31 March 2017.

Timeline

1 September 2016

Primary endpoint
31 March 2017

31 March 2017

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	University of Pennsylvania
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	none
Primary purpose	prevention
Enrollment	203
Start date	1 September 2016
Primary completion	31 March 2017
Estimated completion	31 March 2017
Sites	1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• Reality Check
• Physical Activity Attention Control

Conditions studied

• HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) — all drugs for HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) →
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases — all drugs for Sexually Transmitted Diseases →

Sponsor

University of Pennsylvania

Who can join

Adults 18 to 24, any sex, with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) or Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

African Americans have considerably higher rates of HIV infections than do White, Hispanic, Asian, and Native Americans. African Americans accounted for 59% of all diagnoses of HIV infection among youth (13-24 years of age) in the United States. Young African Americans also have disproportionately high rates of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Therefore, the broad, long-term objective of this research is to identify interventions to reduce the risk of HIV and other STIs among young African Americans. Entertainment-education refers to narrative interventions designed to change behavior while providing entertainment. Several studies have evaluated the impact of media content on HIV risk behavior. One study found that exposure to an entertainment-education based HIV testing campaign was associated with increases in HIV testing among sexually active teens 12 months post exposure. Similarly, a radio soap opera called "Twende na Wakati" became the most popular television show in Tanzania and was highly successful in reducing the number of sexual partners and increasing condom use. A narrative video intervention study in STI clinic waiting rooms in three U.S. cities found a significant reduction in STI re-infection among patients visiting during months when the video was shown compared with patients visiting during months when it was not shown. Although these studies show that entertainment-education can be a promising medium for behavior change, none of them evaluated the efficacy of a tailored online entertainment-education intervention specifically designed for African American youth. To address this gap in the literature, this study tested the preliminary efficacy of an innovative, theory-based HIV risk-reduction serial drama intervention, Reality Check, specifically tailored to young African Americans. We used a randomized controlled trial, allocating African Americans 18 to 24 years of age to Reality Check, or an attention-control intervention promoting physical activity. Each intervention was delivered as a series of videos streamed online and accessible via any Internet-capable device. Participants completed surveys online at baseline, immediately post intervention, and 3 months post intervention. We hypothesized that, Reality Check would reduce condomless sex during the 3-month post-intervention period compared with the attention-matched control group, adjusting for baseline of the criterion.

Publications & conference data

No peer-reviewed publications indexed yet for this trial. Completed trials usually publish results within 12-18 months.