Engineering an Online STI Prevention Program: RCT

Summary

The overall objective of the proposed research is to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among college students. The investigators propose to accomplish this by using the innovative, engineering-inspired multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) to develop a highly effective, appealing, economical, and readily scalable internet-delivered behavioral intervention targeting the intersection of alcohol use and sexual risk behavior. The rate of STIs on college campuses is alarming: one in four college students is diagnosed with an STI at least once during their college experience. Sexual activity when drinking alcohol is highly prevalent among college students. Alcohol use is known to contribute to the sexual risk behaviors that are most responsible for the transmission of STIs, namely unprotected sex, contact with numerous partners, and "hook-ups" (casual sexual encounters). Few interventions have been developed that explicitly target the intersection of alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors, and none have been optimized. In order to reduce the incidence of STI transmission among this and other high-risk groups, a new approach is needed. MOST is a comprehensive methodological framework that brings the power of engineering principles to bear on optimization of behavioral interventions. MOST enables researchers to experimentally test the individual components in an intervention to determine their effectiveness, indicating which components need to be revised and re-tested. Given the high rates of alcohol use and sex among college students, the college setting provides an ideal opportunity for intervening on alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors. The proposed study will include a diverse population of college students on 4 campuses which will increase the generalizability of the findings. The specific aims are to (1) develop and pilot test an initial set of online intervention components targeting the link between alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors, (2) use the MOST approach to build an optimized preventive intervention, and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of the newly optimized preventive intervention using a fully powered randomized controlled trial (RCT). This work will result in a new, more potent behavioral intervention that will reduce the incidence of STIs among college students in the US, and will lay the groundwork for a new generation of highly effective STI prevention interventions aimed at other subpopulations at risk.

Conditions

• Alcohol Consumption
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

itMatters

Increase knowledge related to STIs, STI risk, alcohol impairment, condom use, alcohol use behavior tracking skill, testing \& treatment knowledge. Correct misperceptions regarding approval (injunctive norms) and prevalence (descriptive norms) of alcohol misuse \& sexual risk taking.

BEHAVIORAL

itMatters and itMatters Sexual Violence Prevention

Increase knowledge related to STIs, STI risk, alcohol impairment, condom use, alcohol use behavior tracking skill, testing \& treatment knowledge. Correct misperceptions regarding approval (injunctive norms) and prevalence (descriptive norms) of alcohol misuse \& sexual risk taking. Additionally, increased knowledge related to sexual violence (prevalence, key definitions, individual rights and responsibilities, laws) and increased knowledge, efficacy, and intentions to use bystander behaviors during moments of sexual violence.

BEHAVIORAL

itMatters Well-being and itMatters Sexual Violence Prevention

Increase knowledge related to sleep, including biological effects of sleep and sleep hygiene. Increase knowledge related to time management, including important definitions, sleep management strategies, and effective time management routines. Additionally, increased knowledge related to sexual violence (prevalence, key definitions, individual rights and responsibilities, laws) and increase knowledge, efficacy, and intentions to use bystander behaviors during moments of sexual violence.

BEHAVIORAL

itMatters Well-being

Increase knowledge related to sleep, including biological effects of sleep and sleep hygiene. Increase knowledge related to time management, including important definitions, sleep management strategies, and effective time management routines.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of North Carolina, Greensboro

  collaborator OTHER

• Penn State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Linda M Collins, PhD · Penn State University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-07-15

Primary Completion

2019-12-31

Completion

2019-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations