American Indian and Alaska Native Men Who Have Sex With Men HIV & Substance Abuse Research

Summary

This is a pilot study of the feasibility of the virtually reality, online, culturally grounded HIV prevention intervention for Native American men who have sex with men. The project will include 90 Native American men who have sex with men (MSM) from across the continental United States as well as Alaska and Hawaii.

The investigators will use a randomized clinical trial with a waitlist control condition to evaluate the intervention's impact on HIV / Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) testing behavior, condom use, and substance use harm reduction. Specifically, investigators will ask participants to spend 3 weeks exploring a virtual reality environment hosted in the Second Life® platform. The island consists of 3 levels: Learning Level, Skills building level, and Experiential level.

In the Learning level the participant's avatar will have the opportunity to attend up to 2 free Motivational Interviewing sessions to establish their goals for their time on the island. Additionally, they will explore 4 learning paths each covering a knowledge objective: HIV Testing, Condom Use \& Condom Use Negotiation, Safer Sex, and Harm Reduction. Each path will present knowledge via videos, interactive games, stories, and teachings. After completing level 1, participants will move on to the Skills building level. Here participants will have the opportunity to role play scenarios (e.g., obtaining an HIV test, requesting PrEP from their doctor, negotiating condom use) with pre-program virtual actors. All scenarios are based on the knowledge gained in the Learning Level. Participants will also engage on mini-quests for additional knowledge and in-world rewards. Finally, in the third level participants will be able to practice the skills learned in interactions with other participants' avatars.

If efficacious, this online HIV prevention intervention has the potential for widespread dissemination and could be particularly helpful for rural and reservation-based Native MSM who often have difficulty accessing services and support.

Conditions

• HIV
• Substance Use

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Vr2L 2Spirit

Three weeks exploring the Vr2L 2Spirit island. Week 1: Learning Level. Contains the Vr2L 2Spirit island orientation, the learning paths covering HIV testing, harm reduction, safer sex, and condom use \& condom use negotiation, the lodge, the in-world Motivational Interviewing (MI) counseling, and leisure activities. Week 2: Skills Building Level. The purpose of the city level is for participants to practice the knowledge gained in the Learning level through quests, challenges, and role play scenarios. Week 3: Experiential Level. Experiential interactions with other participants where they can practice the knowledge and skills they gained in the previous levels.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Washington

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Karina L Walters, PhD · University of Washington

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-02-19

Primary Completion

2018-03-30

Completion

2018-03-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations