ISA ASSOCIATES INC — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase II: NICHD

Description

PROJECT SUMMARY ABSTRACTOne inBlack men will be diagnosed with HIV in his lifetime as compared toinWhite menNearlyof these new HIV cases among African American men are due to heterosexual transmissionDespite thisBlack men who have sex with womenMSWhave received very little empirical attentionThis is a missed public health opportunityFirstBlack men do not routinely use condomsone of the most effective ways to prevent the sexual transmission of HIVindicating the potential for substantial behavioral impactAnd secondof new HIV infections in African American women are due to sex with menThe intra racial nature of sexual networks suggests most of these women are infected by Black menThusreducing HIV incidence among Black men should concomitantly reduce HIV disparities among African American womenThe female condomFCis an alternative HIV protection method that may overcome a key barrier to male condom usereduced sexual pleasureResearch shows that Black women respond well to FC educationbut gender norms may impede their efforts to introduce FCs to male partnersOne way to overcome this is to provide FC training directly to menIndeedpreliminary research has shown that men report fewer unprotected sex partners after receiving both female and male condom trainingIn additionmen endorse several benefits to FC useincluding that they provide greater sexual sensation than male condomsTo harness the potential of FCs for Black MSWwe intend to develop Focusa computer based HIV behavioral intervention for heterosexually active African American men that provides training in male and female condom useFocus will computer enable the core components of Focus on the FutureFOFthe only best evidence HIV behavioral intervention for Black MSWThe one hour FOF session addresses the correct and consistent use of male condoms and lubricantscondom negotiationand the importance of protecting one s futureFOF s main message is that there are many types of condoms and lubricants and men should experiment to find the ones that make sex feel bestBy providing FCs as an additional optionFocus aims to lessen the impact of a major barrier to condom uptakereduced sexual pleasureAnother barrier to Black MSW s HIV risk reduction behavior is belief in a traditional masculine ideologyBlack men who espouse these views are more likely to engage in sexual risk behaviorTo counteract thisFocus will provide methods to reframe potentially dangerous masculine beliefs into healthier sexual and relationship behaviorsThe results of Phase I strongly support the feasibility and potential effectiveness of Focusfar exceeding the established benchmarksIn Phase IIwe will complete development of Focus and test its effectiveness in a randomized controlled trial withAfrican American MSWParticipants will be randomly assigned to either receive the Focus program or the attention control materialsBeforeand at two points after random assignmentcondom use behaviors as well as condom skillsattitudesand partner negotiation will be assessed