Efficacy of Behavioral Intervention, Text Messaging, and Extended Intervention to Address Alcohol Misuse in Sexual Minority Men with HIV: A Factorial Randomized Clinical Trial

This clinical trial examined the individual and combined effects of three different approaches to reducing alcohol misuse among a sample of sexual minority men (SMM) with HIV. Specifically, we used a 2 × 2 × 2 randomized factorial design to compare: (a) behavioral intervention based in motivational interviewing (MI) vs. brief intervention (BI), (b) interactive text messaging (ITM) for alcohol use vs. no ITM, and (c) extended intervention (EI) length of nine months vs. a one-month intervention duration. Participants (N = 188) were SMM with HIV and alcohol misuse recruited in Miami, FL, and Boston, MA. Participants were randomized to one of eight intervention combinations and assessed at 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Large reductions of over 50% in drinks per week and heavy drinking days were observed in all conditions at follow-up. Those who received ITM, compared to those who did not, reported significantly lower drinks consumed per week at 6 and 12 months (incidence rate ratios = 0.73 [95% CI = 0.57, 0.90] and 0.72 [95% CI = 0.56, 0.87], respectively), and increased odds of cessation of alcohol misuse at 12 months, odds ratio = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.03, 2.08. Results provided no evidence of better alcohol use outcomes for either MI or EI relative to their comparison conditions, and no specific combination of intervention components demonstrated a notable benefit. This study suggests a two-session BI can effectuate substantial reductions in alcohol use in SMM with HIV and that adding one month of ITM can yield further improvements.