A group-based HIV and sexually transmitted infections prevention intervention for lesbian, bisexual, queer and other women who have sex with women in Calgary and Toronto, Canada: study protocol for a non-randomised cohort pilot study Carmen H Logie, 1,2 Daniela Navia, 3 Marie-Jolie Rwigema, 1 Wangari Tharao, 4 David Este, 5 Mona R Loutfy 2 To cite: Logie CH, Navia D, Rwigema M-J, et al. A group- based HIV and sexually transmitted infections prevention intervention for lesbian, bisexual, queer and other women who have sex with women in Calgary and Toronto, Canada: study protocol for a non-randomised cohort pilot study. BMJ Open 2014;4:e005190. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2014-005190 ▸ Prepublication history and additional material for this paper is available online. To view these files please visit the journal online (http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ bmjopen-2014-005190). Received 4 March 2014 Accepted 27 March 2014 For numbered affiliations see end of article. Correspondence to Carmen H Logie; carmen.logie@utoronto.ca ABSTRACT Introduction: The limited research that exists suggests that lesbian, bisexual queer (LBQ) and other women who have sex with women are at similar risk for sexually transmitted infections (STI) as heterosexual women. However, scant research has evaluated HIV and STI prevention strategies for LBQ women. The authors present the rationale and study protocol for developing and pilot testing a psychoeducational group-based HIV and STI prevention intervention with LBQ women in Calgary and Toronto, Canada. Methods and analysis: This is a multicentre non- randomised cohort pilot study. The target population is LBQ women in Calgary and Toronto, Canada. The authors aim to recruit 40 participants using purposive peer-driven recruitment methods. Participants will conduct a pretest followed by a 2-day group programme of six 2 h sessions addressing stigma, STI and HIV prevention, healthy relationships, safer sex self-efficacy, self-worth, social support and LBQ community engagement. Participants will conduct a post-test directly following the intervention and 6 weeks after the intervention. The primary outcome is safer sex practices; our prespecified index of clinically significant change is an effect size of 0.50. Secondary outcomes include: safer sex self-efficacy, STI testing frequency, STI knowledge, resilient coping, social support, sexual stigma, access to care, depression and self-esteem. We will conduct mixed-effects regression to calculate mean outcome pre–post test score change. Ethics and dissemination: Research ethics approval was attained from the Office of Research Ethics (REB: 29291), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Trial results will be published according to the Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Non- randomised Designs (TREND) statement, regardless of the outcomes. Trial registration number: This study is registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov, registration number NCT02067845. INTRODUCTION The importance of addressing STI among lesbian, bisexual and queer women Efficacious strategies for sexually transmitted infections (STI) prevention among lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) women are under- studied. 1–6 While LBQ women are often per- ceived to be at low risk for STIs, including HIV infection, evidence demonstrates trans- mission between women of STIs such as trichomoniasis, human papillomavirus, herpes simplex virus and hepatitis B. 1 3–7 While the risk of HIV transmission is plausibly much lower, the issue is rarely examined in this population and is not zero. Researchers have described LBQ women have similar STI Strengths and limitations of this study ▪ First trial to evaluate a psychoeducational HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI) prevention intervention among lesbian, bisexual, queer women. ▪ Intervention design was theoretically informed by the social ecological framework to explore intra- personal, interpersonal, community and struc- tural drivers of HIV and STI. ▪ Non-randomised design and the lack of control group could limit external validity. Logie CH, Navia D, Rwigema M-J, et al. BMJ Open 2014;4:e005190. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005190 1 Open Access Protocol group.bmj.com on November 3, 2016 - Published by http://bmjopen.bmj.com/ Downloaded from