Safety and Acceptability of Couples HIV Testing and Counseling for US Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Randomized Prevention Study

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Patrick S Sullivan, Emory University; Darcy White, Emory University; Eli S Rosenberg, Emory University; Jasper Barnes, Emory University; Jeb Jones, Emory University; Sharoda Dasgupta, Emory University; Brandon O'Hara, Emory University; Lamont Scales, AID Atlanta; Laura F. Salazar, Emory University; Gina M Wingood, Emory University; Ralph Joseph Diclemente, Emory University; Kristin Wall, Emory University; Colleen Hoff, San Francisco State University; Beau Gratzer, Howard Brown Health Center; Susan A Allen, Emory University; Robert Stephenson, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2014-03
• Publisher: SAGE Publications (UK and US)
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2013
• Final Published Version (URL): http://jia.sagepub.com/content/13/2/135.full.pdf+html
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care
• ISSN: 2325-9574
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 135
• End Page: 144
• Grant/Funding Information: National Institute of Mental Health (grant number R34-MH086331); Emory Center for AIDS Research (grant number P30-AI050409); MAC AIDS Fund
• Keywords: male couples; men who have sex with men; testing services; HIV
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, General; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

We tested a couples HIV testing and counseling (CHTC) intervention with male couples in Atlanta by randomizing eligible couples to receive either CHTC or separate individual voluntary HIV counseling and testing (iVCT). To evaluate the acceptability and safety of CHTC, main outcomes were satisfaction with the intervention and the proportions of couples reporting intimate partner violence (IPV) and relationship dissolution after the service. The results indicated that the service was very acceptable to men (median 7-item index of satisfaction was 34 for CHTC and 35 for iVCT, P = .4). There was no difference in either incident IPV (22% versus 17% for CHTC and iVCT, respectively, P = .6) or relationship dissolution (42% versus 51% for CHTC and iVCT, respectively, P = .5). Based on the preliminary data, CHTC is safe for male couples, and it is equally acceptable to iVCT for men who have main partners.