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The authors compared the effectiveness of a youth-friendly HIV video with in-person counseling in conveying disease-related knowledge and obtaining consent for HIV testing among adolescents seeking care at an urban emergency department (ED). The two-armed, randomized controlled trial was conducted on a convenience sample of 200 stable, sexually active 15- to 21-year-olds. Participants in both the in-person counseling group and the video intervention group completed preintervention and postintervention HIV knowledge measures. The primary outcome measure was HIV knowledge, while the secondary outcome was consent for HIV testing. Characteristics associated with voluntary HIV testing were identified.
No difference in preintervention HIV knowledge scores was found between the groups. Mean postintervention knowledge scores differed significantly between the video (78.5 percent correct) and the counselor (66.3 percent) (P<.01) groups. In all, 51 percent of the video-watching group vs. 22 percent in the control group accepted HIV testing (P<.01). Watching the video (odds ratio: 3.6 [95 percent confident interval: 1.8-7.2]), being female (OR: 2.1 [95 percent CI: 1.0-4.2]), engaging in oral sex (OR: 2.8[95 percent CI: 1.4-5.9]) and being age 18 or older (OR: 3.8 [95 percent CI: 1.8-7.8]) were all positively associated with testing.
“A youth-friendly HIV educational video improved adolescents’ HIV knowledge and increased their participation in HIV testing more than in-person counseling. Video-based HIV counseling can perform as well or better than in-person counseling for adolescents in the ED,” the authors concluded.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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