Microenterprise Intervention to Reduce Sexual Risk Behaviors in Young Adults

The study team will conduct a two-group study to examine the feasibility of implementing an
enhanced microenterprise intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors. The team will enroll
approximately 40 young adults, aged 18 to 24, who are African-American, homeless,
out-of-school, unemployed or under-employed, report unprotected/unsafe sex, and have access
to a cell phone. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first group
("control") will receive text messages with information on job openings. The second group
("intervention") will receive text messages with information on job openings plus HIV
prevention and business educational sessions, mentored apprenticeship, a start-up grant
(provided in 6 payments), and HIV behavioral economics text messages. Data will be collected
for 26 weeks (week 1 to week 26). Participants will undergo a baseline in-person interview at
the time of enrollment (week 1) and be randomized to a group after completing a 3-week run-in
period (week 1 to week 3). Each group will receive the assigned activities for 20 weeks (week
4 to week 23). An endline in-person interview will be conducted in and around week 26,
respectively. Participants will also complete a weekly text message survey from enrollment
(week 1) to the end of the study (week 26). The study team will collect feasibility
information pertaining to two primary outcomes: (i) the proportion of participants in both
groups who have responded to 70% or more of the weekly text message surveys at week 26 and
(ii) the proportion of participants in the intervention group who have completed 70% or more
of intervention activities (i.e., text message receipt, session attendance, grant spending,
and mentor contact) at week 23. As secondary outcomes, the study team will collect
feasibility information about the proportion of all participants who receive one or more
informational text messages each week, the proportion of all participants who respond to a
text message survey each week, the proportion of intervention participants who attend an
educational session each week, the proportion of intervention participants who receive one or
more mentor contacts each week, and the proportion of intervention participants who spend one
or more grant payments each week. The study team will also examine the completion and
variation in behavioral outcomes pertaining to the proportion of participants in each group
who report one or more unprotected/unsafe sex acts in the last week and last month, the
proportion of participants in each group who report one or more safer sex acts in the last
week and last month, the proportion of participants in each group who report one or more HIV
prevention care-seeking or information-seeking acts in the last week and last month, and the
proportion of participants in each group who report one or more paid hours of work in the
last week and last month. The study is anticipated to start in December 2018.

Inclusion criteria are:

- African American;

- Aged 18-24;

- Living in Baltimore City;

- Having experienced one episode of homelessness in last 12 months;

- Unemployed or employed fewer than 10 hours per week;

- Not enrolled in school;

- Owning a mobile phone with text messaging function;

- Reporting at least one episode of unprotected/unsafe sex in prior 12 months

Exclusion criteria are:

- Aged 17 or younger;

- Older than 24 years;

- Unwilling to provide consent for study participation