OBJECTIVES: To test whether ¡Cuídate!, a program culturally adapted for Hispanic youths, affects sexual risk behavior. METHODS: We evaluated 3 replications of ¡Cuídate! in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts in a randomized controlled trial (registry no. NCT02540304) in which 2169 primarily Hispanic participants were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 1326) or a control (n = 870) group. Youths were surveyed at baseline (September 2012-April 2014) and 6 months postbaseline (March 2013-October 2014). We estimated pooled and subgroup impacts using a regression framework with baseline covariates to increase statistical precision (1216 youths analyzed in the treatment group, 806 analyzed in the control group). RESULTS: We found no impacts on the study's primary outcomes of recent sexual activity or recent unprotected sexual activity. However, ¡Cuídate! improved knowledge (10%-20% increase; P < .001), attitudes (effect size = .24; P < .001), and skills (effect size = .14; P = .002). Exploratory subgroup analyses suggest potentially problematic effects for some groups. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that ¡Cuídate! was effective in improving youths' knowledge and attitudes. However, after 6 months, these changes did not translate to improvements in reported sexual risk behaviors.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: To test whether ¡Cuídate!, a program culturally adapted for Hispanic youths, affects sexual risk behavior. METHODS: We evaluated 3 replications of ¡Cuídate! in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts in a randomized controlled trial (registry no. NCT02540304) in which 2169 primarily Hispanic participants were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 1326) or a control (n = 870) group. Youths were surveyed at baseline (September 2012-April 2014) and 6 months postbaseline (March 2013-October 2014). We estimated pooled and subgroup impacts using a regression framework with baseline covariates to increase statistical precision (1216 youths analyzed in the treatment group, 806 analyzed in the control group). RESULTS: We found no impacts on the study's primary outcomes of recent sexual activity or recent unprotected sexual activity. However, ¡Cuídate! improved knowledge (10%-20% increase; P < .001), attitudes (effect size = .24; P < .001), and skills (effect size = .14; P = .002). Exploratory subgroup analyses suggest potentially problematic effects for some groups. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that ¡Cuídate! was effective in improving youths' knowledge and attitudes. However, after 6 months, these changes did not translate to improvements in reported sexual risk behaviors.
Authors: Brian Goesling; Silvie Colman; Christopher Trenholm; Mary Terzian; Kristin Moore Journal: J Adolesc Health Date: 2014-02-11 Impact factor: 5.012