The Social Cure Effects of United Voices: A Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Pilot Trial of an Online Group-Singing Intervention for Older People with HIV
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study designs: Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial
Abstract: Background: Older people with HIV experience increasing loneliness and social isolation as they age with the stigma of HIV. Group singing is a promising social identity approach but remains largely understudied among people with stigmatizing health conditions. Based on our conceptual model, we developed United Voices (UV), a group-singing intervention for older people with HIV to mitigate the impacts of stigma on loneliness and social isolation. Methods: We conducted a randomized, waitlist-controlled pilot trial of UV to evaluate its feasibility and acceptability. A total of 23 people with HIV ages 50 years and older were randomized into immediate- (n=13) or delayed-start (n=10) group of 12 weekly 90-minute group-singing sessions via Zoom during COVID-19. Psychosocial and behavioral measures were administered at baseline, 6- and 12-weeks, and semi-structured exit interviews were conducted. Results: Enrollment (M=6.8/week) was on par with a priori feasibility threshold, proportion randomized was 85%, lower than threshold (100%). In the immediate-start group, proportion attending at least 10 of the 12 weekly sessions was 77.8%, lower than threshold (80%). Most participants gave moderately high to high ratings for experience with study and group singing program. Conclusions: Most of the a priori feasibility thresholds were met, and satisfaction with the intervention content and implementation procedures was moderately high to high. Group singing affords social opportunities for stigmatized people to reclaim a “spoiled identity” in positive terms through group pride, personal control, belongingness, and social bonding, thereby mitigating loneliness and social isolation. Findings support a subsequent full-scale randomized controlled trial.
Source: Preprints.org
Language: English
Topic: Music Therapy and Health
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7197048498