Reduced Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Young Men of Color Who Have Sex with Men: Findings from the Community-Based Organization Behavioral Outcomes of Many Men, Many Voices (CBOP-3MV) Project

• DOI: 10.1007/s11121-015-0565-8
• Publication Date: 2015-06-02T11:01:34Z
• Authors: Renee Stein; Ekaterine Shapatava; Weston Williams; Tanesha Griffin; Kelly Bell; Bridget Lyons; Gary Uhl
• Keywords: Male; Adolescent; Unsafe Sex; HIV Infections; Health Promotion; United States; 3. Good health; Black or African American; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; 5. Gender equality; Evidence-Based Practice; Surveys and Questionnaires; Humans; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; Homosexuality, Male; Risk Reduction Behavior

In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded community-based organizations (CBOs) to deliver Many Men, Many Voices (3MV) to young men of color who have sex with men. Although 3MV, a group-level behavioral intervention designed to reduce human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviors of black men who have sex with men (MSM), has shown effectiveness when delivered in a controlled research environment, there is limited evidence that the intervention is associated with similar outcomes in "real world" settings. For the current project, CDC funded three CBOs to conduct outcome monitoring of the 3MV intervention to determine if young MSM of color report changes in HIV risk behaviors postintervention. Using a repeated measures design, risk behaviors were collected at baseline and again at 3 and 6 months postintervention. Changes in risk behaviors were assessed using generalized estimating equations. Participants (n = 337) reported decreases in sexual risk behaviors at both follow-up time points, such as sex without a condom, sex without a condom and multiple partners, and sex without a condom with serodiscordant or status unknown partners. Results suggest that 3MV may be an effective tool for reducing HIV risk behaviors in this critical target population.