Resumen
Purpose: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlights the importance of evaluating interventions rigorously and recommends evaluating new interventions against interventions with
established efficacy. Competencias para adolescentes con una sexualidad saludable (COMPAS) is a
school-based HIV prevention program that has been shown to be effective in reducing sexual risk
behaviors among adolescents in Spain. This study evaluates the efficacy of COMPAS program
compared with a Spanish-culture adapted version of ¡Cuídate! (Take Care of Yourself), an evidencebased
HIV prevention curriculum designed for Latino adolescents in the US. Methods: This cluster randomized controlled trial involved 1,563 adolescents attending 18 public
high schools located in 5 provinces of Spain. The schools invited to participate were enrolled and
randomly assigned to the three experimental conditions: COMPAS, ¡Cuídate!, and control group
(CG; no intervention). Results: Generalized estimating equation analyses revealed that both interventions improved attitudes
toward people living with human immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV)/AIDS and the HIV
test and increased HIV/sexually transmitted infection knowledge and intention to engage in safer
sex behaviors compared with the CG. Although only COMPAS increased participants’ sexual risk
perception and attitude toward condom use compared with the CG, the two interventions did not
significantly differ on any outcome. Conclusions: When compared with an established program, COMPAS was at least as effective at
increasing the intention to engage in safer sex behaviors as the evidence-based intervention