Panama 2012: Impact evaluation of "Viviendo la Vida" methodology among Men who have sex with men in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama, round 1.

Goal of the TRaC Study The goal of this study is to assess the impact of VIVE LA VIDA as an HIV prevention intervention promoting correct and consistent condom use. The study will test whether the odds of condom use at last sex are associated with participation in VIVE LA VIDA. 5. Research Objectives This study aims first to test the impact of VIVE LA VIDA on condom use among men who have sex with men. A secondary aim is to determine whether the program operates through a hypothesized set of opportunity, ability and motivation factors, including: self-efficacy, locus of control, risk perception, positive beliefs and carrying a condom all the time 3. Intervention Study with a comparison group This study will use an experimental design to assess the impact of VIVE LA VIDA. Two groups (an intervention group and a comparison group) will be created through random selection based on public lottery: participants will arrive to PASMO office. After being explained the study objectives and consent to participate is requested, they will withdraw a piece of paper out of a hat. Half of the papers in the hat (corresponding to half of participants in the room) will have written participation group, and half will have written comparison group. The researcher will make sure that p articipants do no exchange their individual paper among them. key results of a baseline test: age, education, type of partner. After assignment of participants in each groupthe implementation of VIVE LA VIDA with the intervention group only will start Three months after finishing the last session of VIVE LA VIDA, the intervention and the comparison groups will receive a post-test. The post-test should report a higher improvement in behaviours and opportunity, ability and motivation factors among the intervention group versus the comparison group. The same procedure will be repeated with new cohorts of VIVE LA VIDA and its comparison group until the desired sample size is reached, since countries count with few facilitators of VIVE LA VIDA. In addition to the pre and post tests, in-depth interviews will be carried out with at least 10 MSM in the intervention group, to explore in detail how VIVE LA VIDA influenced their behaviour. In-depth interviews will be carried out also with at least 10 MSM from the comparison group to explore situations of risk and their implemented strategies. The total number of interviews will be based on reaching a moment in which no additional information to help understanding peoples management of risk is added by subsequent interviews. We would expect that the intervention group would come up with more effective strategies as compared to the comparison group, and aligned to the key factors identified by VIVE LA VIDA