Consistent and Correct Use of Condoms With Lubricants and Associated Factors Among Men Who Have Sex With Men from the Ghana Men’s Study II: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study
Bibliographic record
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Men who have sex with men (MSM) experience a disproportionate burden of HIV infection globally, including in Ghana. The use of condoms with lubricants correctly and consistently plays a vital role in reducing the number of new HIV infections among MSM. However, there are concerns about the consistent and correct use of condoms and lubricants among MSM in Ghana. In this regard, there is a need to understand context-specific factors associated with consistent and correct condom use with lubricants. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the current scope of consistent and correct use of condoms with lubricants, associated factors, interventions, and user- and service-related challenges on correct condom and lubricant use among the MSM population in Ghana. METHODS: The study will use a mixed methods study approach. First, a retrospective analysis of the Ghana Men's Study II data set involving 4095 MSM will be conducted to determine the scope of consistency and correct use of condoms with lubricants as well as associated factors. The data will be imported into STATA (version 17; StataCorp LLC) to treat missing data and outliers before the analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses will be conducted to determine the associated factors of consistent condom use with lubricants. All statistical analyses will be done at a 95% CI, with significant differences at P<.05. Second, in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of about 15-20 stakeholders will also be conducted to understand contextual issues regarding the factors identified, identify existing interventions for correct condom and lubricant use, user and service-related challenges, and how best to address those challenges from the stakeholders' perspectives. For qualitative data, thematic analysis will be conducted using Atlas.ti version 23.1.1. RESULTS: Qualitative and quantitative results will be triangulated together with systematic review results, and key findings will be highlighted and used to guide the development of a predictive model for improving correct and consistent condom use with lubrication among MSM. This protocol paper, part of a doctoral study by the first author (RA), received approval from the Research and Ethics Committee of the University of Johannesburg on May 10, 2024. Data collection commenced on August 20, 2024, and the expected results will be published by October 2025. CONCLUSIONS: Results from qualitative interviews and secondary data analysis will be triangulated to develop a predictive model to strengthen the correct and consistent use of condoms with condom-compatible lubricants among MSM and other key population groups in Ghana and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa for future pandemic preparedness, policy making, and targeted budget allocation. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/63276.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.059 | 0.035 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.004 | 0.004 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.005 | 0.004 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.004 | 0.003 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.004 | 0.002 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.003 | 0.003 |
| Open science | 0.004 | 0.002 |
| Research integrity | 0.005 | 0.005 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.042 | 0.009 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".