Crowdsourcing to Promote HIV Testing among MSM in China: A Pragmatic Stepped Wedge Randomized Controlled Trial of a Crowdsourced Intervention

: LAN.007 Crowdsourcing to Promote HIV Testing among MSM in China: A Pragmatic Stepped Wedge Randomized Controlled Trial of a Crowdsourced Intervention T. Zhang, W. Tang, T. SESH study group, J. Tucker; Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Forest Park, IL, USA, UNC Project-China, Guangzhou, China, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Program/Project Purpose: Improving HIV testing for marginalized populations is critical to controlling the HIV epidemic. However, the HIV testing rate among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China remains consistently low. Crowdsourcing, the process of shifting individual tasks to a group, has been increasingly adopted to enhance public health programs and may be a useful tool for spurring innovation in HIV testing campaigns. We designed a multi-site study to develop a crowdsourced HIV test promotion campaign and evaluate its effectiveness against conventional campaigns among MSM in China. Structure/Method/Design: The intervention was developed using crowdsourcing at multiple stages and is being evaluated with a stepped wedge randomized controlled trial (RCT). Intervention development consisted of a nationwide crowdsourcing contest followed by a designathon. The crowdsourcing contest solicited campaign content through an open call, judging, and recognition of finalist entries, which became materials for the designathon. The designathon adopted the concept of a hackathon and allowed individuals to collaborate on designing a comprehensive HIV test promotion campaign. The design elements of the winning entry were included in a HIV test promotion campaign to be evaluated through a stepped wedge RCT. Eight major metropolitan cities in China will be randomized to sequentially initiate intervention in groups of two at 3-month intervals. Outcome & Evaluation: 1347 MSM who are 16 years of age or over, live in the intervention city, did not have HIV testing in the past 3 months, and are not living with HIV were recruited. Recruitment took place through banner advertisements on a large gay dating app along with other social media platforms. The intervention is ongoing. Participants will complete one follow-up survey every 3 months for 12 months to evaluate their HIV testing uptake in the past 3 months as the primary outcome. Going Forward: Our large-scale RCT can improve understanding of crowdsourcing’s long-term effectiveness in public health campaigns, expand HIV testing coverage among a key population, and inform intervention design in related public health fields. This study has been registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02796963) and obtained IRB approvals from the Guangdong Provincial Center for Skin Diseases and STI Control, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and University of California San Francisco. Source of Funding: NIH (#1R01AI114310-01).