A novel, self-guided, home-based intervention to promote condom use among young men: a pilot study

Background

Current HIV prevention programs are often expensive to implement and require significant commitment on the part of participants and staff. These factors limit widespread implementation. Thus, there is an increasingly recognized need to develop and test brief interventions designed to promote safer sex.

Methods

This study tested the potential efficacy of a brief, self-guided, home-based intervention to promote consistent and correct condom use among young men by focusing on condom use skill, enjoyment, and self-efficacy. The central focus of The Kinsey Institute^® Homework Intervention Strategy (KIHIS) is that men practice applying, using, and removing condoms alone (a “low pressure” situation) trying various condoms and lubricants. A repeated measures evaluation compared 2-week, 6-week (n = 28) and 4-month (n = 17) follow-up evaluations to baseline (pre-intervention).

Results

Despite the limited sample size, significant post-intervention improvement was found for condom use experiences, confidence in the ability to use condoms, self-efficacy for condom use, and condom comfort as well as a reduction in breakage and erection problems.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that the KIHIS, with its inherent potential for easy translation to public health sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinics (requiring very little clinic resources), may have lasting and positive effects on subsequent condom use attitudes, skills, and behaviors.