Project SPACE: Testing Daily Text Messages to Reduce Alcohol Use and HIV Risk Behavior

ConditionsHIV Risk Behavior Alcohol Abuse

Trial statusNot yet recruiting

Trial phaseNot applicable

Trial typeInterventional

Biological sexMale

Age18-30

SponsorEmory University

About this trial

Project SPACE is a micro-randomized trial evaluating the proximal effects theory-based text messages on alcohol use and sexual HIV risk behaviors among HIV-negative young adult men at the day-level.

At baseline, all participants will complete GamePlan, an existing brief online sexual health program. During the subsequent 8-week intervention period, participants will complete a brief morning assessment of the preceding day and will be randomized each afternoon, with equal probability, to receive concrete ("how"), abstract ("why"), neutral control, or no afternoon intervention messages. Participants will also complete pre- and post-intervention measures. The effects of GamePlan are not being separately evaluated in this study.

Eligibility criteria

This trial does not accept healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

Male sex at birth and currently identify with male gender

Own and use a smartphone that can receive text messages daily

Have tested negative for HIV in the past 24 months

Be willing to consider a change in their drinking behavior

Disqualifiers

Involved in previous Project SPACE research (i.e., members of the Phase 1 community advisory board or Phase 2 pilot tests)

Participants that have sought treatment for substance use in the past month.

Trial design

Design model

Single group

Treatments tested in this trial

CLT- Concrete text messages
Behavioral
On participant-days assigned to this condition, participants will receive interactive CLT-concrete ('how'-based) text messages will involve asking participants questions about their alcohol use and sexual behaviors. Participants will receive 3 how-based questions related to alcohol and 3 how-based questions related to sexual behaviors (for a total of 6 questions). The messages will prompt participants to think concretely about actions and strategies related to reducing alcohol-related and sexual health risks.
CLT- Abstract text messages
Behavioral
On participant-days assigned to this condition, participants will receive interactive CLT-abstract ('why'-based) text messages will involve asking participants questions about their alcohol use and sexual behaviors. Participants will receive 3 why-based questions related to alcohol and 3 why-based questions related to sexual behaviors (for a total of 6 questions). The messages will prompt participants to think abstractly about their reasons, values, and broader goals related to reducing alcohol-related and sexual-health risks.
Control messages
Behavioral
On participant-days assigned to this condition, participants will receive interactive neutral messages will follow the same structure as intervention texts (CLT-texts), daily for 8 weeks, with having an initial question with 2 follow-up questions (i.e., 3 total questions). Control texts will be neutral (e.g., fun fact). Control messages will help enhance study rigor and rule out confounding due to any potential assessment reactivity to texts.
No messages
Behavioral
On participant-days assigned to this condition, no afternoon intervention message will be delivered. Participants will continue to receive the regularly scheduled morning assessment. Participants in this condition will previously have received the common baseline GamePlan program, as will all other participants.
GamePlan Online Program
Behavioral
Following the baseline assessment and before beginning the 8-week text-messaging period, all participants will complete GamePlan, a brief online sexual-health program lasting approximately 15-20 minutes. GamePlan provides personalized feedback and activities intended to help participants reflect on their sexual choices and consider whether they wish to make changes. GamePlan is administered to all participants and is not a randomized intervention component in this study. Its independent effect will not be evaluated.

Treatment groups

240 Participants

are divided into 1 treatment group

Group A: GamePlan and Daily Micro-Randomized Texts for 8 weeks ArmExperimental treatment 5 interventions

Trial outcomes

Primary outcomes

Daily number of standard alcoholic drinks

Each morning, participants will report the total number of standard alcoholic drinks consumed on the preceding calendar day. Days without alcohol use will be assigned a value of zero. This day-level outcome will be examined in relation to the afternoon message condition assigned on the corresponding calendar day

Time frame

Daily during the 8-week intervention period (Days 1-56)

Daily sexual HIV Risk Indicator

Each morning, participants will report sexual behaviors occurring on the preceding calendar day. A prespecified binary day-level indicator will be coded as yes when at least one behavior meets the study's sexual HIV-risk definition and no when none is reported. This outcome will be examined in relation to the afternoon message condition assigned on the corresponding calendar day.

Time frame

Daily during the 8-week intervention period (Days 1-56)

Sponsors and contacts

Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.

Emory University

Lead sponsor

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Collaborator

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

This trial is not recruiting at the moment. You can still explore other options: