Replicating ¡Cuídate!: 6-Month Impact Findings of a Randomized Controlled Trial.
OBJECTIVE
To test whether ¡Cuídate!, a program culturally adapted for Hispanic youths, affects sexual risk behavior.


METHODS
We evaluated 3 replications of ¡Cuídate! in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts in a randomized controlled trial (registry no. NCT02540304) in which 2169 primarily Hispanic participants were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 1326) or a control (n = 870) group. Youths were surveyed at baseline (September 2012-April 2014) and 6 months postbaseline (March 2013-October 2014). We estimated pooled and subgroup impacts using a regression framework with baseline covariates to increase statistical precision (1216 youths analyzed in the treatment group, 806 analyzed in the control group).


RESULTS
We found no impacts on the study's primary outcomes of recent sexual activity or recent unprotected sexual activity. However, ¡Cuídate! improved knowledge (10%-20% increase; P < .001), attitudes (effect size = .24; P < .001), and skills (effect size = .14; P = .002). Exploratory subgroup analyses suggest potentially problematic effects for some groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that ¡Cuídate! was effective in improving youths' knowledge and attitudes. However, after 6 months, these changes did not translate to improvements in reported sexual risk behaviors.
Meredith Kelsey, Carolyn Layzer, Cristofer Price, Randall Juras, Michelle Blocklin and Jacqueline Mendez are with Abt Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA. Jean Layzer is with Belmont Research Associates, Belmont, MA.
Meredith
M
Kelsey
Meredith Kelsey, Carolyn Layzer, Cristofer Price, Randall Juras, Michelle Blocklin and Jacqueline Mendez are with Abt Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA. Jean Layzer is with Belmont Research Associates, Belmont, MA.
Carolyn
C
Layzer
Meredith Kelsey, Carolyn Layzer, Cristofer Price, Randall Juras, Michelle Blocklin and Jacqueline Mendez are with Abt Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA. Jean Layzer is with Belmont Research Associates, Belmont, MA.
Jean
J
Layzer
Meredith Kelsey, Carolyn Layzer, Cristofer Price, Randall Juras, Michelle Blocklin and Jacqueline Mendez are with Abt Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA. Jean Layzer is with Belmont Research Associates, Belmont, MA.
Cristofer
C
Price
Meredith Kelsey, Carolyn Layzer, Cristofer Price, Randall Juras, Michelle Blocklin and Jacqueline Mendez are with Abt Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA. Jean Layzer is with Belmont Research Associates, Belmont, MA.
Randall
R
Juras
Meredith Kelsey, Carolyn Layzer, Cristofer Price, Randall Juras, Michelle Blocklin and Jacqueline Mendez are with Abt Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA. Jean Layzer is with Belmont Research Associates, Belmont, MA.
Michelle
M
Blocklin
Meredith Kelsey, Carolyn Layzer, Cristofer Price, Randall Juras, Michelle Blocklin and Jacqueline Mendez are with Abt Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA. Jean Layzer is with Belmont Research Associates, Belmont, MA.
Jacqueline
J
Mendez
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006 Aug;160(8):772-7
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J Adolesc Health. 2014 May;54(5):499-507
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J Adolesc Health. 2014 Mar;54(3 Suppl):S45-52
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