A Chatbot to Reduce Chemsex and HIV-related Risk Behaviors Among Men Who Have Sex With Men

N/ANot Yet RecruitingNCT07472582

Chinese University of Hong Kong100 enrolled

Overview

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate whether receiving chatbot-delivered stage-of-change-tailored online interventions is effective in reducing chemsex among men who have sex with men in Hong Kong. The main question it aims to answer is: Does chatbot-delivered stage-of-changed online interventions reduce chemsex among men who have sex with men Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention or the control group. The control group will watch one online video introducing chemsex-related knowledge and harm reduction skills per week for 12 weeks. On top of the interventions received by the control group, participants in the intervention group will have access to a chatbot during the 12-week intervention period. The chatbot will deliver 12 weekly episodes of interventions tailored to once's current stage-of-change related to chemsex. The chatbot will also address questions related to chemsex during the intervention period.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

100

Conditions

Behavior

Interventions

Participants will watch one online video introducing chemsex-related knowledge and harm reduction skills per week for 12 weeks. The chatbot will deliver 12 weekly episodes of interventions tailored to once's current stage-of-change related to chemsex. The chatbot will also address questions related to chemsex during the intervention period.

Eligibility

Sex: MALEMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Hong Kong men aged at least 18 years * Able to understand Cantonese * Had anal intercourse with at least one man within the past six months * Willingness to provide contact information for follow-up * Having access to WhatsApp Exclusion Criteria: * Self-reported a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Presence of chemsex in the past 3 months

Presence of chemsex will be measured by a validated questionnaire. Chemsex is defined as the use of any of the following psychoactive substances before or during sexual intercourse: ketamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy, Dormicum/Halcion/Erimin 5/nonprescription hypnotic drugs, heroin, cough suppressant (not for curing cough), amyl nitrite (popper), GHB/GBL, 5-methoxy-N, N-diisopropyltryptamine (Foxy), and mephedrone. Participants will be asked whether they had used any of the aforementioned psychoactive substances before or during sexual intercourse in the past 3 months at baseline, after completion of the 12-week intervention (Month 3 or Week 12), and 3 months after completion of the 12-week intervention (Month 6)

Time frame: Baseline, after completion of the 12-week intervention (Month 3 or Week 12), and 3 months after completion of the 12-week intervention (Month 6)