The core measures allowed us to describe the sample, evaluate the risk reduction intervention, and explore possible moderators of intervention efficacy. Therefore, all participants completed the core items, which included demographics (e.g., race/ethnicity, education, employment), diet (e.g., fast food frequency), physical activity (e.g., frequency of moderate physical activity), smoking (e.g., frequency and number of cigarettes), alcohol use (e.g., AUDIT-C [62 ], number of drinks per week), drug use (e.g., frequency of marijuana and cocaine use), sleep (e.g., number of hours per night). Additional items assessed partner violence [63 (link)], perceived stress [64 ], mental health [65 (link)], and satisfaction with the intervention [66 ]. We do not report on these measures in the current report but details can be found elsewhere [67 (link)].
Importantly, the core items included seven items used as primary outcomes, assessing sexual behavior (i.e., number of partners; whether partnerships were concurrent (patients who reported >1 partner in the past 3 months were asked whether their sexual relationships overlapped in time); number of unprotected vaginal and anal sex episodes with steady and non-steady partners]. These items were nested in the larger survey of health behaviors in order to minimize assessment reactivity.
In addition to the self-report measures, the core measures also included STI testing. At baseline, participants were tested for STIs per standard CDC-approved protocol. At all follow-ups, urine specimens were tested for chlamydia (CT) and gonorrhea (Gc), and clinic records were reviewed at the end of the 1 year follow-up period for CT, Gc, trichomoniasis, syphilis, and HIV. For data analytic purposes, STI test results were grouped into three distinct time frames for analyses: (a) tests administered at study entry or within 30 days of study entry were considered baseline tests; (b) tests administered during the next 6 months (between 31 and 213 days after study entry) were considered short-term follow-ups; and (c) tests administered 7 months (214 days) or longer after study entry were considered long-term follow-ups.
Importantly, the core items included seven items used as primary outcomes, assessing sexual behavior (i.e., number of partners; whether partnerships were concurrent (patients who reported >1 partner in the past 3 months were asked whether their sexual relationships overlapped in time); number of unprotected vaginal and anal sex episodes with steady and non-steady partners]. These items were nested in the larger survey of health behaviors in order to minimize assessment reactivity.
In addition to the self-report measures, the core measures also included STI testing. At baseline, participants were tested for STIs per standard CDC-approved protocol. At all follow-ups, urine specimens were tested for chlamydia (CT) and gonorrhea (Gc), and clinic records were reviewed at the end of the 1 year follow-up period for CT, Gc, trichomoniasis, syphilis, and HIV. For data analytic purposes, STI test results were grouped into three distinct time frames for analyses: (a) tests administered at study entry or within 30 days of study entry were considered baseline tests; (b) tests administered during the next 6 months (between 31 and 213 days after study entry) were considered short-term follow-ups; and (c) tests administered 7 months (214 days) or longer after study entry were considered long-term follow-ups.
