A Web-Based Virtual Environment Behavioral Intervention as Cardiovascular Disease and Metabolic Disease Prevention Education in Persons With HIV: Evaluation of the LEARN Randomized Controlled Trial
Abstract
Background: Persons living with HIV have an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases compared with HIV-seronegative individuals.
Objective: This study aims to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a virtual environment (VE) for cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease prevention education among men living with HIV through a pilot waitlist-control randomized trial.
Methods: In phase 1, we conducted interviews and VE beta testing with 25 individuals. In phase 2, reported here, we conducted a waitlist-controlled trial using permuted block randomization. Participants were allocated to either the VE intervention (n=40) or the waitlist control arm (n=38). The primary outcomes were feasibility (defined by recruitment and retention metrics) and acceptability (defined by levels of engagement) of the VE. We also examined preliminary effect sizes across several cardiovascular health-related indicators.
Results: Participants had a mean age of 41.8 (SD 10.4) years and had been living with HIV for a mean of 15.9 (SD 9.7) years. Of the 56 total participants, 35 (63%) were Black and 15 (27%) were Hispanic. A total of 14 out of 31 (45%) of participants with baseline data in the intervention arm engaged with the VE, with an average session duration of 110 minutes. The most highly engaged content modules were nutrition (146 engagements), oral health (138 engagements), fitness tips and videos (82 engagements), and relaxation techniques (75 engagements). Retention was 48…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 56 participants or records.
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