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A Chatbot to Reduce Chemsex and HIV-related Risk Behaviors Among Men Who Have Sex With Men

A Chatbot to Reduce Chemsex and HIV-related Risk Behaviors Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07472582
Enrollment
100
Registered
2026-03-16
Start date
2026-04-01
Completion date
2027-03-31
Last updated
2026-03-16

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Behavior

Brief summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate whether receiving chatbot-delivered stage-of-change-tailored online interventions is effective in reducing chemsex among men who have sex with men in Hong Kong. The main question it aims to answer is: Does chatbot-delivered stage-of-changed online interventions reduce chemsex among men who have sex with men Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention or the control group. The control group will watch one online video introducing chemsex-related knowledge and harm reduction skills per week for 12 weeks. On top of the interventions received by the control group, participants in the intervention group will have access to a chatbot during the 12-week intervention period. The chatbot will deliver 12 weekly episodes of interventions tailored to once's current stage-of-change related to chemsex. The chatbot will also address questions related to chemsex during the intervention period.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALChatbot-delivered online interventions and online videos

Participants will watch one online video introducing chemsex-related knowledge and harm reduction skills per week for 12 weeks. The chatbot will deliver 12 weekly episodes of interventions tailored to once's current stage-of-change related to chemsex. The chatbot will also address questions related to chemsex during the intervention period.

BEHAVIORALOnline videos only

Participants will watch one online video introducing chemsex-related knowledge and harm reduction skills per week for 12 weeks.

Sponsors

Chinese University of Hong Kong
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Hong Kong men aged at least 18 years * Able to understand Cantonese * Had anal intercourse with at least one man within the past six months * Willingness to provide contact information for follow-up * Having access to WhatsApp

Exclusion criteria

* Self-reported a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Presence of chemsex in the past 3 monthsBaseline, after completion of the 12-week intervention (Month 3 or Week 12), and 3 months after completion of the 12-week intervention (Month 6)Presence of chemsex will be measured by a validated questionnaire. Chemsex is defined as the use of any of the following psychoactive substances before or during sexual intercourse: ketamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy, Dormicum/Halcion/Erimin 5/nonprescription hypnotic drugs, heroin, cough suppressant (not for curing cough), amyl nitrite (popper), GHB/GBL, 5-methoxy-N, N-diisopropyltryptamine (Foxy), and mephedrone. Participants will be asked whether they had used any of the aforementioned psychoactive substances before or during sexual intercourse in the past 3 months at baseline, after completion of the 12-week intervention (Month 3 or Week 12), and 3 months after completion of the 12-week intervention (Month 6)

Contacts

CONTACTZixin Wang, PhD
wangzx@cuhk.edu.hk+852 22528474

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jun 27, 2026