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Couples-Focused Prevention Program to Reduce HIV Risk Among Transgender Women and Their Primary Male Partners: Feasibility and Promise of the Couples HIV Intervention Program

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Abstract

HIV risk among transgender women has been attributed to condomless sex with primary male partners. This study pilot tested a couples-focused HIV intervention program for transgender women and their primary male partners. We analyzed data from 56 transgender women and their male partners (n = 112 participants) who were randomized as a couple to one of two groups. Participants in the intervention group (27 couples) received 3 counseling sessions: 2 couples-focused sessions, which discussed relationship dynamics, communication, and HIV risk, and 1 individual-focused session on HIV prevention concerns. Participants in the control group (29 couples) received 1 session on general HIV prevention information delivered to both partners together. At 3-month follow-up, participants in the intervention reported lower odds of condomless sex with primary partners (OR 0.5, 95 % CI 0.3–1.0), reduced odds of engaging in sex with a casual partner (OR 0.3, 95 % CI 0.1–1.0), and reduction in the number of casual partners (B = −1.45, SE = 0.4) compared with the control group. Findings provide support for the feasibility and promise of a couples-focused HIV prevention intervention for transgender women and their primary male partners.

Resumen

El riesgo para el VIH entre mujeres transgénero ha sido atribuido a sexo sin condón durante relaciones sexuales con parejas masculinas primarias. Este estudio piloto probó un programa de intervención enfocado en parejas para prevenir el VIH entre mujeres transgénero y sus parejas masculinas primarias. Se analizaron los datos de 56 mujeres transgénero y sus parejas masculinas (n = 112 participantes) quienes fueron asignados al azar como pareja a uno de dos grupos. Los participantes en el grupo de intervención (27 parejas) recibieron 3 sesiones de consejería: 2 sesiones enfocadas en parejas, en la cual se discutió dinámicas de la relación, comunicación, y riesgo para el VIH, y 1 sesión individual centrada en preocupaciones relacionadas con la prevención del VIH. Los participantes en el grupo de control (29 parejas) recibieron 1 sesión enfocada en parejas sobre información general acerca de prevención del VIH. A los 3 meses de seguimiento, los participantes en la intervención reportaron probabilidades más bajas de sexo sin condón con parejas primarias (OR 0.5, 95 % CI 0.3–1.0), menores probabilidades de tener relaciones sexuales con una pareja ocasional (OR 0.3, 95 % CI 0.1–1.0), y reducción en el número de parejas ocasionales (B = −1.45, SE = 0.4) en comparación con el grupo control. Estos resultados proporcionan apoyo a la viabilidad y promesa de una intervención enfocada en parejas para prevenir el VIH entre mujeres transgénero y sus parejas masculinas primarias.

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Funding

This study was funded by NIH Grants R34MH093232 and U24AA022000. Support was also provided by T32MH07878 and P30AI042853

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Brown University, 121 South Main St., 3rd Floor, Providence, RI, 02906, USA

    Don Operario

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Kristi E. Gamarel

  3. Public Health Institute, Oakland, CA, USA

    Mariko Iwamoto, Sachico Suzuki, Sabrina Suico & Tooru Nemoto

  4. School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Lynae Darbes

Authors
  1. Don Operario
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  2. Kristi E. Gamarel
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  3. Mariko Iwamoto
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  4. Sachico Suzuki
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  5. Sabrina Suico
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  6. Lynae Darbes
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  7. Tooru Nemoto
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Correspondence to Don Operario.

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Authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Operario, D., Gamarel, K.E., Iwamoto, M. et al. Couples-Focused Prevention Program to Reduce HIV Risk Among Transgender Women and Their Primary Male Partners: Feasibility and Promise of the Couples HIV Intervention Program. AIDS Behav 21, 2452–2463 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1462-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1462-2

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