Real Men Are Safe-Culturally Adapted: Utilizing the Delphi process to revise Real Men Are Safe for an ethnically diverse group of men in substance abuse treatment.

The National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) recently completed a randomized clinical trial (CTN-0018) evaluating an HIV prevention intervention targeting men in substance abuse treatment called “Real Men Are Safe (REMAS).” REMAS was found to be effective at reducing the number of unprotected sexual occasions for men in substance abuse treatment compared to an HIV education control intervention. This CTN ancillary study used a modified Delphi process to compare modules from REMAS to similar-content modules from other CDC-approved, culturally tailored HIV prevention interventions. Utilizing ratings and recommendations obtained from an independent expert panel, REMAS was subsequently revised to be more culturally adapted for an ethnically diverse group of men. Ratings suggested REMAS was culturally fair, but that in certain areas the culturally tailored interventions were more in tune with African Americans and Hispanic men. Revisions to REMAS included an added focus on how culture, social norms, and upbringing affect a man’s sexual behavior and relationships.

Related protocols: CTN-0018