TY - JOUR
T1 - Lessons learned from use of social network strategy in HIV testing programs targeting African American men who have sex with men
AU - McCree, Donna H.
AU - Millett, Gregorio
AU - Baytop, Chanza
AU - Royal, Scott
AU - Ellen, Jonathan
AU - Halkitis, Perry N.
AU - Kupprat, Sandra A.
AU - Gillen, Sara
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2013 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2013/10
Y1 - 2013/10
N2 - Objectives. We report lessons derived from implementation of the Social Network Strategy (SNS) into existing HIV counseling, testing, and referral services targeting 18- to 64-year-old Black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). Methods. The SNS procedures used in this study were adapted from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded, 2-year demonstration project involving 9 community-based organizations (CBOs) in 7 cities. Under the SNS, HIV-positive and HIV-negative men at high risk for HIV (recruiters) were enlisted to identify and recruit persons from their social, sexual, or drug-using networks (network associates) for HIV testing. Sites maintained records of modified study protocols for ascertaining lessons learned. The study was conducted between April 2008 and May 2010 at CBOs in Washington, DC, and New York, New York, and at a health department in Baltimore, Maryland. Results. Several common lessons regarding development of the plan, staffing, training, and use of incentives were identified across the sites. Collectively, these lessons indicate use of SNS is resource-intensive, requiring a detailed plan, dedicated staff, and continual input from clients and staff for successful implementation. Conclusions. SNS may provide a strategy for identifying and targeting clusters of high-risk Black MSM for HIV testing. Given the resources needed to implement the strategy, additional studies using an experimental design are needed to determine the cost-effectiveness of SNS compared with other testing strategies.
AB - Objectives. We report lessons derived from implementation of the Social Network Strategy (SNS) into existing HIV counseling, testing, and referral services targeting 18- to 64-year-old Black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). Methods. The SNS procedures used in this study were adapted from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded, 2-year demonstration project involving 9 community-based organizations (CBOs) in 7 cities. Under the SNS, HIV-positive and HIV-negative men at high risk for HIV (recruiters) were enlisted to identify and recruit persons from their social, sexual, or drug-using networks (network associates) for HIV testing. Sites maintained records of modified study protocols for ascertaining lessons learned. The study was conducted between April 2008 and May 2010 at CBOs in Washington, DC, and New York, New York, and at a health department in Baltimore, Maryland. Results. Several common lessons regarding development of the plan, staffing, training, and use of incentives were identified across the sites. Collectively, these lessons indicate use of SNS is resource-intensive, requiring a detailed plan, dedicated staff, and continual input from clients and staff for successful implementation. Conclusions. SNS may provide a strategy for identifying and targeting clusters of high-risk Black MSM for HIV testing. Given the resources needed to implement the strategy, additional studies using an experimental design are needed to determine the cost-effectiveness of SNS compared with other testing strategies.
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U2 - 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301260
DO - 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301260
M3 - Article
C2 - 23948017
AN - SCOPUS:84884135479
SN - 0090-0036
VL - 103
SP - 1851
EP - 1856
JO - American journal of public health
JF - American journal of public health
IS - 10
ER -