Active clinical trials for "Sexually Transmitted Diseases"

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the Wise Guys program on the delaying sexual initiation on adolescent males in Eastern Iowa.

Both population based surveys and more focused research studies indicate that increased numbers of sexual partners and partner concurrency contribute to increased risk for acquisition of sexually transmitted infection (STI), including HIV infection. However, unlike for men, both national and sub-population-based studies consistently find that the great majority of women with or without STIs report only 1-2 sex partners in the preceding year and that a minority of women acknowledge > 3 sex partners over the same period, suggesting that this relatively small proportion of women with higher numbers of sex partners play a disproportionate role in sustaining community STI rates. Despite these observations, surprisingly little is known about women with increased numbers of sexual partners, the factors which contribute to increased partner number, and the potential for those factors to be intervened upon to reduce risk for STI. The implications of these facts for STI/HIV prevention efforts are profound. For instance, interventions that include the implication that target audiences have multiple sex partners might be dismissed as irrelevant by those with single partners. Conversely, interventions targeting women with multiple sex partners may be based on assumptions derived from data which, while representative of the general target audience, may not reflect relevant circumstances for the subset of women with higher numbers of partners. This study will begin to generate data that will provide critical information on this topic and help inform future development of STI/HIV interventions tailored to womens' individual circumstances and contexts. The investigators hypothesize that women with 4 or more sexual partners during the past year will report higher rates of depression and substance abuse (alcohol and drugs), higher rates of intimate partner violence, less social support, more non-vaginal sex, more same-sex contacts, and higher rates of STIs than women reporting only one sexual partner during the past year.

The purpose of this study is to collect data on the HIV strains currently circulating among female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients. In addition, this study will identify potential participants for future studies.

The main purpose of the CoDISEN cohort study is to propose a model of prevention and care for HIV and viral hepatitis adapted to the needs of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Dakar, Senegal.

Despite the significant preventive efforts to reduce HIV infections in the past decades, the incidence in MSM has plateaued at a higher level after the turn of the millennium. In 2015 a reduction in newly diagnosed HIV cases was reported for the first time. Early detection of HIV and treatment as prevention may have played a positive role in reducing HIV transmission, however, numbers increased again in 2016. Over 90% of HIV positive MSM in Norway are treated and virologically suppressed and thereby considered not infectious. Since the early days of the HIV epidemic, changes in sexual behaviour and increased use of condoms have been advocated and the only tools available to prevent HIV transmission. Later, frequent testing and treatment of STIs (including HIV) have been added to the preventive measures available. Still, this does not seem to be sufficient for all MSM. The use of PrEP is therefore likely an important supplement to prevent HIV infections in MSM at high risk for HIV acquisition. The main objective of this study is to monitor the impact of PrEP on the subject's psychological and sexual health. It is also important to monitor the adherence to PrEP, development of drug resistance (in the case of undetected HIV infection at initiation of PrEP), frequency of other STIs, changes in sexual behaviour, recreational drug use and quality of life. PrEP has proven to be effective in reducing the sexual acquisition of HIV, however this requires that the medication is taken as prescribed, whilst the subject is exposed to high risk of infection.

Four focus groups , each of 10-15 males, ages 20-50 years old, MSM will be conducted by a medical sociologist. Two groups will be HIV negative participants and two groups of HIV positive MSM. Every group will meet for two hours. The focus group will be recorded and the collected data will be processed further for evaluation and extraction of the relevant information. The volunteers will sign an inform consent prior to entrance to the study.

The purpose of this project is to explore women's thoughts, opinions, and ideas about vaginal products. The investigators will ask women to help design the best strategy for applying a vaginal product using a specific kind of applicator. The investigators want to identify designs that women think would be easy to prepare and insert. Women's thoughts and opinions will help researchers develop new products called microbicides that may protect against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, that are easy to use, and that will be acceptable to women who use them. If researchers can make products that are easy to use and that women like to use, the products will be used more often, and more infections will be prevented. Women who enroll in the project will either participate in a focus group with approximately 3-7 other women or a one-on-one cognitive interview. All participants will complete a brief questionnaire. Some women may enroll in both stages. Each focus group will take approximately 1.5-2.5 hours. Group leaders will talk to women about their experiences using vaginal products and will provide participants with study products to look at and touch. All participants will be asked to come up with ideas of how to make the products easy to use and acceptable to women who use them. Group leaders will encourage discussion about the different designs. After this, group leaders will talk about a specific type of microbicide and ask women about their opinions. In particular, researchers and participants will talk about the language that would be best understood by women who would use these products or be in studies to evaluate them. Each cognitive interview will take approximately 1.5-2.5 hours. Each participant will be asked about different product designs and application instructions, and will be asked her thoughts, opinions, and potential concerns about each. She will also evaluate sample language that will be used to help women understand the products and how to use them.