How Togethr Works
Connect from the comfort of home in three easy steps
Connect to HIV testing, sexual health resources, and community from the privacy of your own space. From the first pre-screener to the followups, the Togethr team is here to help you get the resources you need.
Get
Started
Pre-Screener
Less than 15 minutes
Fill out a brief online survey to find out whether you may be eligible to participate in the TOGETHR Study .
Fill out a brief online survey to find out whether you may be eligible to participate in the TOGETHR Study .
Enrollment Call
About 45 to 60 minutes
Talk with our study staff over Zoom
Confirm your eligibility
Learn more about the study and provide informed consent
Baseline Test & Survey
About 45 minutes
Complete an online survey about your background, health, sex life, mood, stressors, attitudes, alcohol/drug use, and other experiences. You will be compensated $30 when you complete the survey.
Complete an at-home HIV test kit and return it by mail. You will be compensated $20 when you complete and return the HIV test.
You are considered fully enrolled in the study once you have completed the at-home HIV test and we have contacted you to deliver test results.
When we deliver your test results, we will randomly assign you to one of the four study groups. You will be assigned by chance, like the flip of a coin. We do not have any control over which group you are assigned to.
Study
activities
Intervention
6 weeks
You will be randomly assigned to one of four study groups.
Activity commitments range from none to 3.5 hours a week for 6 weeks, depending on the study group you are assigned to. These activities may include one-on-one peer navigation, small group-based support, both, or neither.
Everyone will also have access to a catalogue of information.
All activities are fully online.
Everyone will have access to an online catalogue of information and resources.
You will be compensated $10 for each intervention session (one-on-one peer support and/or small group-based support) you attend.
A website with information about HIV services and PrEP. You will have the option of reviewing the provided materials as often as you want.
Website plus one-on-one peer support. There will be one (1) one-on-one peer session that lasts 90 minutes once a week for 6 weeks.
Website plus small group-based support. There will be one (1) small-group peer session that lasts 120 minutes once a week for 6 weeks.
Everything that Groups A, B, and C have. You will be asked to complete all of the sessions described for Groups B and C.
Study Timeline
During the study, you’ll be asked to do follow up activities over the following months.
We plan to ask some participants to complete an interview. During the interview, we will ask questions about the materials you were given and your thoughts on HIV prevention and PrEP use. The interview will take place online. The audio will be recorded and transcribed so that the study staff can remember what is said. Not everyone who participates in the study will be asked to interview.
After you complete your study assigned group strategy, you can choose to take part in one-on-one peer navigation sessions, small-group sessions, or both. This is so that you can have a chance to learn and experience the same things as other participants in the study. These sessions will cover the same material and take the same amount of time as described above. You do not need to take part in these optional sessions to take part in the study.
You will be paid for your participation in this research study. We will pay you:
- $30 each time you complete a full-length survey at baseline, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months.
- $10 each time you complete a short survey at 9 months and 15 months.
- $20 for each HIV test kit you complete and return.
- $10 for each intervention session (virtual peer navigation and/or virtual peer support group) you attend.
- $50 if you are selected for an interview and you choose to participate.
Depending on what group you are randomly assigned to, you may be asked to complete no intervention sessions, 6 intervention sessions, or 12 intervention sessions. If you are asked to repeat the baseline survey and home test kit, you will be paid again. You may or may not be asked to participate the 9-month interview. You will not be paid for the optional intervention sessions in months 12-18 of the study.
You will receive payment in the form of a pre-paid gift card called ClinCard. You will receive the physical card in the mail at your preferred address. Your payment will be loaded onto the card shortly after each of your visits. We will pay you using the same card throughout the entire study, so we suggest keeping it in a safe location. If your card is lost, stolen, or damaged please contact one of the study staff members and we will mail you another card. Any balance you had on the original card will automatically transfer to the new card. However, we cannot replace money that was spent on a lost or stolen card.
If you are interested in participating, study staff will check whether you live in an EHE priority hotspot when you complete the screener to check eligibility.
If you would like to check ahead of time, you can consult the CDC’s list of EHE priority hotspots here.
To participate in the TOGETHR study, you must meet the following requirements:
- Are 18 years or older.
- Are a man, transgender man, or transmasculine (ex. nonbinary, genderqueer, genderfluid, etc.) and assigned a female sex at birth.
- Are sexually active with one or more partners who have a penis and were assigned a male sex at birth.
- Have access to a smartphone or computer with internet access.
- Are HIV-negative.
- Have had certain kinds of sex, shared injection supplies, and/or been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection in the last 3 months.
- Live in an Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) priority hotspot.
- Are comfortable reading and conversing in English.
