School of Nursing, University of Hong Kong, 4/F, William M.W. Mong Block 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, University of Hong Kong, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Apr 13;21(1):713. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10742-8.
Sexualised drug use, known as 'chemsex' or 'chemfun,' is the practice of intentionally using illicit drugs before or during sexual activates to enhance sexual arousal and pleasure. International and local data have both suggested that chemsex is common among men who have sex with men (MSM). Chemsex is generally seen with the engagement of risky sexual activities and therefore poses a threat regarding the potentially increased spread of human immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted infections. However, little work has been done on the primary prevention of chemsex among MSM. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop and evaluate an interactive internet-based intervention in reducing the sexual harms of chemsex among MSM in Hong Kong, METHODS: A two-armed, randomised, parallel-group trial with a three-month follow-up period will be conducted. 250 MSM aged 18 years or the above will be recruited through local non-governmental organisations, social media and by snowballing in Hong Kong. Participants will be randomly allocated into either the intervention (n = 125) or control group (n = 125). The interactive internet-based intervention will be developed based on the theory of planned behaviours. Participants in the control group will receive a web-based intervention without any sexual health information and without any interactive components. The primary outcomes will be self-efficacy in refusing risky sexual behaviours and chemsex, as measured by the Drug Avoidance Self-Efficacy Scale, the Self-Efficacy for Sexual Safety and the Condom Self-Efficacy Scale. Subjects in both groups will be evaluated at baseline and 3 months after baseline.
To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first interactive internet-based intervention to specifically target chemsex among MSM. This project can help in the development and testing of culturally relevant health promotion programmes that reduce chemsex among MSM. Using an online delivery mode, the intervention is capable of reaching a large population of targets at a relatively low cost and thus has the potential to reduce the public health burden of chemsex and other risky sexual behaviours among MSM in a cost-effective manner.
International standard randomized controlled trial number (ISRCTN) registry: ISRCTN20134522 registered on 17 March 2021.
性化药物使用，也被称为“嗑药性行为”或“嗑药寻欢”，是指在性行为之前或期间故意使用非法药物，以增强性唤起和快感。国际和本地数据均表明，男男性行为者（MSM）中存在嗑药性行为。嗑药性行为通常伴随着危险的性行为，因此对人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）和其他性传播感染（STI）的潜在传播增加构成了威胁。然而，针对 MSM 中嗑药性行为的初级预防措施却鲜有研究。因此，本研究旨在开发和评估一种基于互联网的互动干预措施，以减少香港 MSM 中嗑药性行为的性危害。
这是一项为期三个月随访期的、两臂、随机、平行组试验。将通过香港当地非政府组织、社交媒体和滚雪球的方式招募 250 名年龄在 18 岁及以上的 MSM。参与者将被随机分配到干预组（n=125）或对照组（n=125）。基于计划行为理论开发的基于互联网的互动干预措施。对照组参与者将接受不包含任何性健康信息且不具备任何互动功能的网络干预措施。主要结局指标为拒绝危险性行为和嗑药性行为的自我效能，采用药物回避自我效能量表、性安全自我效能和 condom 自我效能量表进行评估。两组受试者均在基线和基线后 3 个月进行评估。
据我们所知，这将是第一个专门针对 MSM 嗑药性行为的基于互联网的互动干预措施。该项目有助于开发和测试文化相关的健康促进计划，以减少 MSM 中的嗑药性行为。通过在线交付模式，该干预措施能够以相对较低的成本触达大量目标人群，从而具有以具有成本效益的方式降低 MSM 中嗑药性行为和其他危险性行为对公共卫生的负担的潜力。
国际标准随机对照试验编号（ISRCTN）登记：于 2021 年 3 月 17 日在 ISRCTN 注册。
