Guy2Guy
Adolescent men who have sex with men (AMSM) are facing increasing incidence of HIV and account for almost 70% of new HIV diagnoses among young people in the US, with most transmission occurring through condomless sex. At the same time, the majority of prevention programs focus primarily on adults. The majority of program that are tailored to youth are heterosexual focused.
To fill this gap, we developed Guy2Guy (G2G), a text messaging-based HIV prevention program tailored to the unique needs of adolescent men 14-18 years of age across the US. Content was developed iteratively, including focus groups, a Content Advisory Team, and a beta test. The program is comprised of six weeks of text messaging content guided by the Information-Motivation-Behavior (IMB) model. Topics include: HIV transmission and prevention information, social norms about HIV prevention and attitudes toward condom use, correct condom use steps, HIV testing, communication skills, and healthy and unhealthy relationships. In addition to receiving messages aimed at increasing safe sex behavior, intervention participants also had real-time access to peer-based support (i.e., a Text Buddy) and on-demand information about HIV-prevention related topics, such as how to end a relationship healthfully (i.e., G2Genie). The program was evaluated for feasibility and acceptability, along with preliminary indications of efficacy in a pilot randomized controlled trial conducted with over 300 AMSM.
This study was conducted in partnership with the IMPACT Program at Northwestern University.
Funding Sources:Project Videos
Media Mentions
Presentations
- Program acceptability of a text-messaging based HIV prevention program for gay, bisexual, and queer adolescent males
- Beta test results of Guy2Guy: an mHealth HIV prevention program for sexual minority adolescent males
- Reaching gay, bisexual, and queer adolescent males: Development and refinement of an online recruitment strategy
- Ethical considerations of text messaging-based interventions with a vulnerable population: gay, bisexual, and queer teen men
Peer Reviewed Publications
- Ethical considerations in conducting a text messaging-based HIV prevention program with gay, bisexual, and queer adolescent men
- Low rates of human immunodeficiency virus testing among adolescent gay, bisexual, and queer men
- Iteratively developing an mHealth HIV prevention programfor sexual minority adolescent men
- Online focus groups as an HIV prevention program for gay, bisexual, and queer adolescent males
Study Instruments
- Phase 1. Focus Group 1 – Bulletin board moderator script (Sexually Experienced group)
- Phase 1. Focus Group 1 – Bulletin board moderator script (Sexually Inexperienced group)
- Phase 1. Focus Group 2 – Bulletin board moderator script (Sexually Experienced group)
- Phase 1. Focus Group 2 – Bulletin board moderator script (Sexually Inexperienced group)
- Phase 1. Focus Groups – Informed Assent Form