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Evaluation of Project RISE, an HIV Prevention Intervention for Black Bisexual Men Using an Ecosystems Approach

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Abstract

Black men who have sex with men and women (MSMW) are among the populations at highest risk for HIV infection. We describe the evaluation of Project RISE, a six-session individual-level intervention developed for black MSMW using an ecosystems approach. A randomized controlled trial was used to test the effect of the intervention on sexual risk outcomes. Eligibility criteria included having both male and female sex partners in the past 12 months. Complete data at 5-month follow-up were collected from 86.7% of the 165 participants. In analyses controlling for HIV status, age, and baseline risk, intervention participants were found to have significantly greater reductions in number of female partners (p < 0.05) and total male and female partners (p < 0.05) at follow-up, compared to the control group. Intervention participants also were significantly more likely to report a reduction in number of sex episodes without a condom with female partners (p < 0.05) and with all partners (p < 0.02) at follow-up, compared to the control group.

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Acknowledgements

This work is the result of a collaborative effort, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cooperative agreement #1UR6PS0001099. The authors would like to thank the investigators and staff at each of the funded sites, as well as members of participating community advisory boards and community-based organizations. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research & Evaluation Group, Public Health Management Corp., Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Jennifer Lauby, Mary Milnamow & Shannon Hitchcock

  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Heather A. Joseph, Yi Pan & Maria Mendoza

  3. The COLOURS Organization, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Lee Carson

  4. amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, Washington, DC, USA

    Greg Millett

  5. 84 Peregrine Dr., Voorhees, NJ, 08043, USA

    Jennifer Lauby

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  1. Jennifer Lauby
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  2. Mary Milnamow
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  3. Heather A. Joseph
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  4. Shannon Hitchcock
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  5. Lee Carson
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  6. Yi Pan
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  7. Maria Mendoza
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  8. Greg Millett
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Correspondence to Jennifer Lauby.

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All procedures involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national 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 for whom identifying information is included in this article.

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Lauby, J., Milnamow, M., Joseph, H.A. et al. Evaluation of Project RISE, an HIV Prevention Intervention for Black Bisexual Men Using an Ecosystems Approach. AIDS Behav 22, 164–177 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-1892-5

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