Effectiveness of the SMART Sex Ed program among 13–18 year old English and Spanish speaking adolescent men who have sex with men

Brian Mustanski*, Rana Saber, Kathryn Macapagal, Maggie Matson, Eric Laber, Carlos Rodrgiuez-Diaz, Kevin O. Moran, Andres Carrion, David Andrew Moskowitz, Michael E. Newcomb

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Adolescent men who have sex with men (AMSM) have a high HIV incidence and low utilization of testing and prevention services. However, very few HIV prevention programs exist that focus on the unique sexual health needs of AMSM. SMART is a stepped care package of eHealth interventions that comprehensively address the sexual and HIV prevention needs of AMSM. This study examines the impact of the first step of SMART, “SMART Sex Ed,” on 13- to 18-year-old AMSM (n = 983) from baseline to three-month follow-up across 18 separate outcomes measuring HIV prevention attitudes, skills, and behaviors. We observed significant change from baseline to three-month post-intervention in nine HIV-related outcomes (e.g., receipt of HIV and STI test, HIV knowledge), as well as largely consistent effects across demographic subgroups (e.g., race, age, rural, low SES). Analyses observed no effects on condom use behaviors. SMART Sex Ed shows promise as an effective sexual health education program for diverse AMSM.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)733-744
Number of pages12
JournalAIDS and behavior
Volume27
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2023

Funding

We would like to thank all of the staff across Northwestern University, University of Puerto Rico, Hunter College of the City University of New York, North Carolina State University and the University of Hawai’i at Hilo for their hard work. We thank Ji-Young Lee for her help with the literature review. Finally, we would like to thank all of the participants in SMART for their time and commitment to the study. This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to Brian Mustanski (U01 MD011281). The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Institutes of Health or the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

Keywords

  • Adolescent
  • HIV prevention
  • MSM
  • online
  • sexual health education

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Social Psychology

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