# A Randomized Trial to Prevent HIV Among Gay Couples

> **NIH NIH R01** · SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $638,048

## Abstract

In the US, men who have sex with men (MSM) represent the largest proportion of AIDS deaths,
people living with AIDS, and HIV incidence. While numerous prevention efforts targeting MSM
have successfully reduced HIV incidence in the US, many men are not reached, including gay
couples. Several epidemiological studies attribute high rates of new HIV infections to
condomless anal sex within male primary partnerships, but few prevention interventions are
available to address and reverse this trend.
Several factors have recently changed the HIV prevention landscape, including advancements
in biomedical strategies, an increased desire to develop interventions that can be scaled up
efficiently and a need to develop cost-effective programing due to decreases in prevention
dollars. Multi-session individual- and group-level in-person sexual risk reduction interventions
for MSM were the gold standard for many years. Behavioral interventions have also been
delivered via the internet, since they are convenient, able to reach large numbers of individuals
and less labor intensive to implement, compared to interventions delivered via multiple in-
person sessions. It is important to examine the optimal modes of providing prevention
interventions in the context of this changing prevention landscape.
The majority of prevention interventions targeting MSM are individual-focused. However, over
the years, our research has identified unique prevention needs for gay couples that have not
been sufficiently addressed in individual-focused interventions. For example, while most gay
couples have agreements about sex with partners outside the relationship, many couples have
difficulty negotiating their agreements, some have difficulty adhering to their agreements and
those who break their agreements have difficulty disclosing the break to their partner; all of
which could pose potential HIV risk for the couple. Our study team has led the field in examining
relationship dynamics among gay couples. With a goal to develop a theory driven yet
empirically-informed intervention, we have been studying the nuances of relationships and
determining the HIV risk factors that either persist or change over time. Several years of
longitudinal quantitative and qualitative studies, have yielded the evidence for an empirically-
driven model that provides a foundational framework for the proposed intervention. Additionally,
due to a dearth of prevention interventions for gay couples, there is little documented knowledge
about the best modes of intervention delivery. Specifically, we do not know if it is efficacious for
couples to participate in an intervention in-person or online. We also do not know if particular
topics are best addressed using one of these modes or the other. To address these questions,
we propose in an R01 application, to test the efficacy of our theory-based and empirically-driven
HIV risk reduction intervention for gay male couples using a randomized controlled trial.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9982433
- **Project number:** 5R01MH110289-05
- **Recipient organization:** SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** LYNAE A DARBES
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $638,048
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-20 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9982433

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9982433, A Randomized Trial to Prevent HIV Among Gay Couples (5R01MH110289-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9982433. Licensed CC0.

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