CClinicalTrials.gg
Not yet recruitingNCT07792148ESTEEMUpdated Sep 24, 2026

Adapting the ESTEEM Intervention to Improve Mental Health and PrEP Uptake Among Men at Risk of HIV

An interventional study of PrEPared Minds/ Mentes PrEParadas - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and No Intervention in PrEP Use, sponsored by Wake Forest University Health Sciences. Not yet recruiting. Open to male participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-24.

Sponsored by Wake Forest University Health Sciences · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
80
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
Male
01

Study summary

The purpose of this research study is to adapt, implement, and evaluate a 10-session mental health intervention with men who have sex with men at the Regional AIDS Interfaith Network to find out if it will reduce anxiety and depression and increase awareness and use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medication to prevent HIV.

Read the detailed description

This study will assess the preliminary effectiveness of the PrEPared Minds/ Mentes PrEParadas intervention. After randomizing English and Spanish-speaking men who have sex with men (MSM) to the cognitive behavioral therapy intervention or control group, the study team will conduct quantitative assessments (at baseline, 3-months, 6-months post intervention) and pre/post intervention in-depth interviews with MSM to assess preliminary effectiveness on depression, anxiety, and PrEP uptake. We will also use structural equation modeling to explore the pathways through which the adapted intervention influences mental health and PrEP uptake.

02

Conditions studied

  • PrEP Use

Keywords

  • depression
  • anxiety
  • men who have sex with men
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
Male
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Identify as a man who has sex with men
  • Able to speak, read, and write in Spanish or English
  • Never received and HIV diagnosis
  • Reports HIV acquisition risk in; by having confirmed any of the following in the past 6 months: (a) have had sex with a partner living with HIV; (b) have had sex with a partner whose HIV status was unknown to you; (c) have had anal sex without a condom; or (d) have been diagnosed with gonorrhea, chlamydia or syphillis
  • Not currently using PrEP as prescribed
  • Experiencing mild to moderate anxiety symptoms within the past 2 weeks, defined as a GAD-7 score of 5 - 14, on the GAD-7 anxiety screener or mild to moderate depressive symptoms within the past 2 weeks, defined as a PHQ-9 score of 5 - 14 on the depression screener

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe anxiety (≥15 on the GAD-7 screener), depression (≥ 15 on the PHQ-9 screener) or active suicidality
  • Reports minimal depression and anxiety symptoms, defined as both a GAD-7 score ≤ 4 and a PHQ-9 score ≤ 4.
  • Report of current or history of serious mental illness including but not limited to schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder or another psychotic disorder
  • Currently receiving mental health services (for more than 1 month)
04

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
80 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Intervention

    participants randomized to the intervention

    Behavioral: PrEPared Minds/ Mentes PrEParadas - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

  • Active comparator
    Control Group

    participants not receiving the intervention

    Other: No Intervention

Interventions

  • BehavioralPrEPared Minds/ Mentes PrEParadas - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

    PrEPared Minds/Mentes PrEParadas is an adapted, bilingual (English/Spanish) affirmative cognitive behavioral intervention designed to improve mental health and promote HIV prevention. Intervention includes 10 one-hour sessions of skills-building cognitive behavioral therapy.

  • OtherNo Intervention

    Participants do not receive PrEPared Minds/ Mentes PrEParadas intervention.

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Depression Questionnaire- PHQ-9

    The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a 9-question self-report tool used to screen, diagnose, monitor, and measure the severity of depression. Total score range is 0-27 with higher score indicating higher severity of depression.

    Time frame: Baseline

  2. Depression - PHQ-9 instrument

    The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a 9-question self-report tool used to screen, diagnose, monitor, and measure the severity of depression. Total score range is 0-27 with higher score indicating higher severity of depression.

    Time frame: Month 3 Post Randomization

  3. Depression - PHQ-9 instrument

    The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a 9-question self-report tool used to screen, diagnose, monitor, and measure the severity of depression. Total score range is 0-27 with higher score indicating higher severity of depression.

    Time frame: Month 6 Post Randomization

  4. Anxiety Questionnaire - GAD-7

    The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) is a 7-item self-report questionnaire used to screen for generalized anxiety disorder and measure symptom severity. Total score range is 0-21 with higher score indicating higher severity of anxiety.

    Time frame: Baseline

  5. Anxiety - GAD-7 instrument

    The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) is a 7-item self-report questionnaire used to screen for generalized anxiety disorder and measure symptom severity. Total score range is 0-21 with higher score indicating higher severity of anxiety.

    Time frame: Month 3 Post Randomization

  6. Anxiety - GAD-7 instrument

    The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) is a 7-item self-report questionnaire used to screen for generalized anxiety disorder and measure symptom severity. Total score range is 0-21 with higher score indicating higher severity of anxiety.

    Time frame: Month 6 Post Randomization

  7. PrEP Uptake

    Number of participants that self-report PrEp use

    Time frame: Baseline

  8. PrEP Uptake

    Number of participants that self-report PrEp use

    Time frame: Month 3 Post Randomization

  9. PrEP Uptake

    Number of participants that self-report PrEp use

    Time frame: Month 6 Post Randomization

06

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

07

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — Individual participant data that underlie results reported, after deidentification.

Supporting information: Study protocol, Sap, Icf

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07792148
Lead sponsor
Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Collaborators
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Aug 28, 2026
Start date
Oct 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Aug 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 24, 2026

Study contacts

Dirk Davis, PhD, MPH
Contact
dirk.davis@wfusm.edu
704-609-9752
Dirk Davis, PhD, MPH
principal investigator · Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion