Nonclinical Sexual Health Support for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections in Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men: Protocol for a European Community Health Worker Online Survey (ECHOES).

ECHOES Europe HIV MSM community health worker gay men hepatitis peer support sexual health sexually transmitted infections

Journal

JMIR research protocols
ISSN: 1929-0748
Titre abrégé: JMIR Res Protoc
Pays: Canada
ID NLM: 101599504

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
18 Feb 2020
Historique:
received: 12 06 2019
accepted: 29 10 2019
revised: 19 09 2019
entrez: 5 3 2020
pubmed: 5 3 2020
medline: 5 3 2020
Statut: epublish

Résumé

The term "community health worker" (CHW) can apply to a wide range of individuals providing health services and support for diverse populations. Very little is known about the role of CHWs in Europe working in nonclinical settings who promote sexual health and prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). This paper describes the development and piloting of the first European Community Health Worker Online Survey (ECHOES) as part of the broader European Union-funded ESTICOM (European Surveys and Trainings to Improve MSM Community Health) project. The questionnaire aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of CHWs providing sexual health services to gay, bisexual, and other MSM in European settings. ECHOES comprises three superordinate domains divided into 10 subsections with 175 items (routed) based on a scoping exercise and literature review, online prepiloting, and Europe-wide consultation. Additional piloting and cognitive debriefing interviews with stakeholders were conducted to identify comprehension issues and improve the clarity, intelligibility, accessibility, and acceptability of the survey. Psychometric properties, including internal consistency of the standardized scales used as part of the survey were examined. The final survey was available to 33 countries in 16 languages. Recruitment closed on January 31, 2018. Data from 1035 CHWs were available for analysis after application of the exclusion criteria. The findings of the ECHOES survey and the wider ESTICOM project, are now available from the ESTICOM website and/or by contacting the first author. The findings of this survey will help characterize, for the first time, the diverse role of CHWs who provide sexual health services to gay, bisexual, and other MSM in Europe. Importantly, the data will be used to inform the content and design of a dedicated training program for CHWs as part of the larger ESTICOM project and provide recommendations for MSM-specific strategies to improve sexual health in general and to reduce the incidence and prevalence of HIV, viral hepatitis, and other STIs in particular. RR1-10.2196/15012.

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
The term "community health worker" (CHW) can apply to a wide range of individuals providing health services and support for diverse populations. Very little is known about the role of CHWs in Europe working in nonclinical settings who promote sexual health and prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM).
OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE
This paper describes the development and piloting of the first European Community Health Worker Online Survey (ECHOES) as part of the broader European Union-funded ESTICOM (European Surveys and Trainings to Improve MSM Community Health) project. The questionnaire aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of CHWs providing sexual health services to gay, bisexual, and other MSM in European settings.
METHODS METHODS
ECHOES comprises three superordinate domains divided into 10 subsections with 175 items (routed) based on a scoping exercise and literature review, online prepiloting, and Europe-wide consultation. Additional piloting and cognitive debriefing interviews with stakeholders were conducted to identify comprehension issues and improve the clarity, intelligibility, accessibility, and acceptability of the survey. Psychometric properties, including internal consistency of the standardized scales used as part of the survey were examined. The final survey was available to 33 countries in 16 languages.
RESULTS RESULTS
Recruitment closed on January 31, 2018. Data from 1035 CHWs were available for analysis after application of the exclusion criteria. The findings of the ECHOES survey and the wider ESTICOM project, are now available from the ESTICOM website and/or by contacting the first author.
CONCLUSIONS CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this survey will help characterize, for the first time, the diverse role of CHWs who provide sexual health services to gay, bisexual, and other MSM in Europe. Importantly, the data will be used to inform the content and design of a dedicated training program for CHWs as part of the larger ESTICOM project and provide recommendations for MSM-specific strategies to improve sexual health in general and to reduce the incidence and prevalence of HIV, viral hepatitis, and other STIs in particular.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) UNASSIGNED
RR1-10.2196/15012.

Identifiants

pubmed: 32130176
pii: v9i2e15012
doi: 10.2196/15012
pmc: PMC7055835
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Pagination

e15012

Informations de copyright

©Nigel Sherriff, Jorg Huber, Nick McGlynn, Carrie Llewellyn, Alex Pollard, Nicolas Lorente, Cinta Folch, Caoimhe Cawley, Oksana Panochenko, Michael Krone, Maria Dutarte, Jordi Casabona. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 18.02.2020.

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Auteurs

Nigel Sherriff (N)

School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton, United Kingdom.
Centre for Transforming Sexuality & Gender, University of Brighton, Brighton, United Kingdom.

Jorg Huber (J)

School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton, United Kingdom.

Nick McGlynn (N)

School of Environment & Technology, University of Brighton, Brighton, United Kingdom.

Carrie Llewellyn (C)

Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.

Alex Pollard (A)

Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.

Nicolas Lorente (N)

Centre d'Estudis Epidemiològics sobre les Infeccions de Transmissió Sexual i Sida de Catalunya (CEEISCAT), Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya, Badalona, Spain.
Institut Investigació Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain.

Cinta Folch (C)

Centre d'Estudis Epidemiològics sobre les Infeccions de Transmissió Sexual i Sida de Catalunya (CEEISCAT), Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya, Badalona, Spain.
CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.

Caoimhe Cawley (C)

Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.

Oksana Panochenko (O)

AIDS Action Europe, Berlin, Germany.

Michael Krone (M)

AIDS Action Europe, Berlin, Germany.

Maria Dutarte (M)

European AIDS Treatment Group, Brussels, Belgium.

Jordi Casabona (J)

Centre d'Estudis Epidemiològics sobre les Infeccions de Transmissió Sexual i Sida de Catalunya (CEEISCAT), Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya, Badalona, Spain.
CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.

Classifications MeSH