Can partner counseling cut STI rates in teens?
NCT ID NCT03275168
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This pilot study tested whether a couples-based counseling program could help young people (ages 16-25) and their partners prevent STIs and HIV. The program added joint health education sessions to existing individual prevention counseling. Researchers enrolled 68 participants from the Baltimore area to see if the approach was feasible and acceptable. The study focused on recruitment and retention, not on whether infections actually dropped.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- dyadic counseling and support for condom negotiation
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could offer a practical way to help young couples reduce their risk of STIs and HIV through better communication and condom use.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small pilot study with only 68 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. It tests feasibility, not effectiveness, so it's too early to know if it actually prevents infections.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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68 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2018
- Finished
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Oct 2021
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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16 to 30 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: The index patient must be * 16-25 years * Engage in male-female \[heterosexual\] intercourse * Permanently reside in the Greater Baltimore Metropolitan Area (GBMA) * Willing to recruit their main sexual partner for the study * Willing to participate in a single individual session with a health educator followed by a joint debriefing session together * Willing to be contacted in 6-8 weeks for a telephone interview The partner must be * 16-30 years * Engage in male-female \[heterosexual\] intercourse with the index patient * Permanently reside in the greater Baltimore Metropolitan Area * Willing to participate in a single individual session with a health educator followed by a joint debriefing session together * Willing to be contacted in 6-8 weeks for a telephone interview Exclusion Criteria: * Index participants and partners who are unable to communicate with staff or participate in study procedures due to cognitive, mental, or language difficulties will not be eligible for recruitment into the study. * Dyads will also be excluded if in same-sex main partnership or a member of the couple is currently enrolled in another sexual behavior study, one or both partners has a known concurrent HIV infection, one or more partners has a pending incarceration, there is more than five years age difference between the two partners and one partner is \<16 years of age, or there is evidence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the relationship. * Individuals who screen positive for IPV will be referred to local resources for assistance.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Johns Hopkins Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States