Open AccessA Pilot Test of Game Changers, a Social Network Intervention to Empower People with HIV to be Prevention Advocates in Uganda
Author(s) -
Laura M. Bogart,
Joseph K. B. Matovu,
Glenn Wagner,
Harold D. Green,
Erik D. Storholm,
David J. Klein,
Terry Marsh,
Sarah MacCarthy,
Andrew Kambugu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
aids and behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.994
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1573-3254
pISSN - 1090-7165
DOI - 10.1007/s10461-020-02806-4
Subject(s) - serostatus , health psychology , intervention (counseling) , medicine , public health , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , social support , randomized controlled trial , social network (sociolinguistics) , stigma (botany) , social stigma , psychology , clinical psychology , gerontology , family medicine , psychiatry , social psychology , viral load , social media , nursing , political science , law
We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial of Game Changers, a 6-session group intervention that empowers people with HIV to be HIV prevention advocates in their social networks. Ninety-nine people with HIV (51 intervention, 48 wait-list control) and 58 of their social network members (alters) completed baseline and 5- and 8-month post-baseline assessments. Results indicated high acceptability, demonstrated by participants' and facilitators' positive attitudes qualitatively and favorable ratings of intervention sessions quantitatively, and high feasibility (76% attended all intervention sessions). Intention-to-treat analyses indicated significantly increased HIV prevention advocacy among HIV-positive participants and alters [b (SE) = 0.4 (0.2), p = .017; b (SE) = 0.4 (0.2), p = .035]; reduced internalized HIV stigma [b (SE) = - 0.3 (0.1), p = .012], increased HIV-serostatus disclosure [b (SE) = 0.1 (0.1), p = .051], and increased social network density among HIV-positive participants [b (SE) = 0.1 (0.03), p = .004]; and marginally reduced condomless sex among alters [OR (95% CI) = 0.3 (0.1-1.2), p = .08]. Positioning people with HIV as central to prevention has the potential to reduce stigma and improve prevention outcomes throughout social networks.