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CyberSenga: Internet-based HIV Prevention in Uganda

This study has been completed.
Sponsor:
Collaborators:
Mbarara University of Science and Technology
Harvard University
University of Colorado, Denver
Internet Solutions for Kids Uganda, Limited
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Center for Innovative Public Health Research
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT00906178
First received: May 20, 2009
Last updated: January 18, 2012
Last verified: January 2012
History of Changes
  Purpose

We propose to design and test an Internet-based HIV prevention program for adolescents in Uganda.


Condition Intervention Phase
Sexual Abstinence
Condom Use
 Behavioral: CybereSenga
 Phase 1

Study Type: Interventional
Study Design: Allocation: Randomized
Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Open Label
Primary Purpose: Prevention
Official Title: CyberSenga: Harnessing the Power of the Internet to Prevent HIV in Ugandan Youth

Resource links provided by NLM:

MedlinePlus related topics: HIV/AIDS
U.S. FDA Resources

Further study details as provided by Center for Innovative Public Health Research:

Primary Outcome Measures:
  • Our main outcome measure is the frequency of unprotected sex [ Time Frame: 6-months post-intervention ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Secondary Outcome Measures:
  • The secondary outcome will be sexual abstinence [ Time Frame: 6-months post-intervention ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Enrollment: 374
Study Start Date: August 2007
Study Completion Date: October 2011
Primary Completion Date: October 2011 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
Arms Assigned Interventions
Experimental: HIV prevention
6-module HIV prevention program tailored for adolescents in Uganda
 Behavioral: CybereSenga
Internet-based HIV prevention program
Placebo Comparator: Control
"treatment as usual" - the sexual health education adolescents currently receive in secondary school
 Behavioral: CybereSenga
Internet-based HIV prevention program

Detailed Description:

HIV/AIDS is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in Uganda. Despite aggressive advances in HIV prevention efforts, recent data suggest that HIV prevalence is increasing generally, and HIV knowledge, a direct contributor to behavior, is on the decline among young people specifically as compared to a decade ago.

The Internet is a promising mode of intervention delivery in resource poor-settings because the costs associated with scaling up are minimal; dissemination online is the same if one person or 100,000 people use the program. Just as important, it provides access to important health information in a stigma-free, anonymous atmosphere. Our recent data indicate that 45% of adolescents in Mbarara, Uganda have used the Internet, 78% of whom went online at least once in the previous week. Eighty-one percent of respondents in the same survey indicated they would go to an HIV prevention web site if it existed. Based upon these data, we propose to develop a culturally appropriate, Internet-based HIV prevention program designed specifically for Ugandan adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years. Our specific aims are as follows:

Specific Aim 1: Design a 6-hour, Internet-based HIV prevention program for adolescents. Content will be culturally tailored to the HIV preventive information, motivation, and behavioral skills needs of Ugandan adolescents.

Specific Aim 2: Test the intervention in a randomized controlled trial (n=500) among adolescents attending grades Secondary 1-4 (similar to US high school grades 8th - 11th) at day schools in Mbarara.

This project has the potential to develop low-cost and scalable interventions to HIV transmission risk behaviors among adolescents in Uganda.

  Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:   up to 18 Years
Genders Eligible for Study:   Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:   Yes
Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Attendance at a partner secondary school
  • Enrollment in grades Secondary 1 through 4
  • Caregiver informed permission and adolescent informed assent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • none
  Contacts and Locations
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00906178

Locations
Uganda
Internet Solutions for Kids Uganda, Lmtd
Mbarara, Uganda
Sponsors and Collaborators
Center for Innovative Public Health Research
Mbarara University of Science and Technology
Harvard University
University of Colorado, Denver
Internet Solutions for Kids Uganda, Limited
Investigators
Principal Investigator: Michele Ybarra, MPH PhD Internet Solutions for Kids
  More Information

Publications:

Responsible Party: Center for Innovative Public Health Research
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00906178     History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers: ISK-NIH-MH080662, 5R01MH080662
Study First Received: May 20, 2009
Last Updated: January 18, 2012
Health Authority: United States: Institutional Review Board
Uganda: National Council for Science and Technology
Uganda: Research Ethics Committee

Keywords provided by Center for Innovative Public Health Research:
HIV prevention
technology
adolescent
developing countries

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on May 19, 2013