Puccinelli Marc, Seay Julia, Otto Amy, Garcia Sofia, Crane Tracy E, Benzo Roberto M, Solle Natasha, Mustanski Brian, Merchant Nipun, Safren Steven A, Penedo Frank J
Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States.
Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA, United States.
JMIR Res Protoc. 2022 Jul 18;11(7):e37822. doi: 10.2196/37822.
Sexual minority men are disproportionately affected by HIV. Medical advances in HIV treatment have extended life expectancy, and as this group ages, medical and psychological challenges become more prominent. Older people with HIV experience a higher incidence of cancer and other comorbidities; these burdens along with sexual minority stress can strain coping resources and diminish health-related quality of life. Interventions such as cognitive behavioral stress and self-management (CBSM) can mitigate some of this burden; however, no manualized, eHealth-based interventions have focused on the unique needs of sexual minority men living with HIV and cancer.
This study aims to refine and finalize a web-based, CBSM-based intervention to meet the unique needs of this population, including sexual health, comanagement of 2 chronic conditions, and coping with sexual minority stress.
This mixed methods study used a previously completed qualitative phase (n=6) to inform the development of a web-based platform and intervention called SmartManage. The pilot phase study (n=50) involved randomization (1:1) into either 10 sessions of adapted CBSM or an attention control health promotion. Both conditions used the SmartManage platform, a web-based eHealth program designed to deliver CBSM and health promotion content and host live groups. Feasibility and acceptability (eg, rates of participant engagement and retention) were the primary outcomes.
Participant-related activities are expected to be completed by November 2022, and results are expected to be submitted for publication by February 2023.
We hypothesize that participants would find the intervention acceptable (compared with engagement and retention rates observed in similar CBSM studies). We also hypothesize that participants receiving the SmartManage intervention would have reduced symptom burden and improved health-related quality of life before and after treatment compared with those who do not.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/37822.
性少数群体男性受艾滋病毒影响的比例过高。艾滋病毒治疗方面的医学进展延长了预期寿命，随着这一群体年龄的增长，医疗和心理挑战变得更加突出。感染艾滋病毒的老年人患癌症和其他合并症的发生率更高；这些负担以及性少数群体压力会使应对资源紧张，并降低与健康相关的生活质量。认知行为压力与自我管理（CBSM）等干预措施可以减轻部分此类负担；然而，尚无基于电子健康的手册化干预措施关注感染艾滋病毒和癌症的性少数群体男性的独特需求。
本研究旨在完善并最终确定一种基于网络的、以CBSM为基础的干预措施，以满足该人群的独特需求，包括性健康、两种慢性病的共同管理以及应对性少数群体压力。
这项混合方法研究利用先前完成的定性阶段（n = 6）为一个名为SmartManage的基于网络的平台和干预措施的开发提供信息。试点阶段研究（n = 50）涉及随机分组（1:1），分为接受10节适应性CBSM课程或注意力控制健康促进课程。两种情况都使用SmartManage平台，这是一个基于网络的电子健康项目，旨在提供CBSM和健康促进内容并主持现场小组活动。可行性和可接受性（如参与者参与率和留存率）是主要结果。
与参与者相关的活动预计于2022年11月完成，结果预计于2023年2月提交发表。
我们假设参与者会认为该干预措施是可接受的（与类似CBSM研究中观察到的参与率和留存率相比）。我们还假设，与未接受干预的参与者相比，接受SmartManage干预的参与者在治疗前后的症状负担会减轻，与健康相关的生活质量会得到改善。
国际注册报告识别码（IRRID）：DERR1-10.2196/37822。
