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RiskRadar: development and pilot results of a technical intervention targeting combination prevention regarding HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis.
Kakalou, Christine; Polychronidou, Eleftheria; Drosou, Vicky; Dimitriadis, Vlasios K; Dermaris, Thomas; Kordonias, Rafael; Papaprodromou, Aris; Tsirelis, Triantafillos; Maramis, Christos; Votis, Konstantinos; Tzovaras, Dimitrios; Savarino, Domenico; Maffeo, Manuel; Jasic, Nedim; Nemeth-Blazic, Tatjana; Dominkovic, Zoran; Pogledic, Dubravko; Jovovic, Iva; Simkunaite-Zazecke, Agne; Stoniene, Loreta; Sammut, Antonella; Cosmaro, Lella; Natsiavas, Pantelis.
  • Kakalou C; Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece. ckakalou@certh.gr.
  • Polychronidou E; Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Drosou V; Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Dimitriadis VK; Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Dermaris T; Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Kordonias R; Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Papaprodromou A; Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Tsirelis T; Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Maramis C; Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Votis K; Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Tzovaras D; Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Savarino D; Fondazione LILA Milano - Italian League for Fighting AIDS, Milan, Italy.
  • Maffeo M; Arcigay - Associazione LGBTI Italiana, Bologna, Italy.
  • Jasic N; Croce Rossa Italiana, Rome, Italy.
  • Nemeth-Blazic T; CIPH Croatian Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia.
  • Dominkovic Z; Iskorak, Zagreb, Croatia.
  • Pogledic D; Iskorak, Zagreb, Croatia.
  • Jovovic I; Life Quality Improvement Organisation "Flight", Zagreb, Croatia.
  • Simkunaite-Zazecke A; ULAC/CCDA Centre for Communicable Diseases and AIDS, Vilnius, Lithuania.
  • Stoniene L; RPLC Republican Center for Addictive Disorders, Vilnius, Lithuania.
  • Sammut A; Public Mental Health Services. Ministry for Health, Valletta, Malta.
  • Cosmaro L; Fondazione LILA Milano - Italian League for Fighting AIDS, Milan, Italy.
  • Natsiavas P; Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece.
BMC Infect Dis ; 21(Suppl 2): 866, 2021 Sep 13.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1477272
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

The HIV pandemic impacts the lives of millions and despite the global coordinated response, innovative actions are still needed to end it. A major challenge is the added burden of coinfections such as viral hepatitis, tuberculosis and various sexually transmitted infections in terms of prevention, treatment and increased morbidity in individuals with HIV infection. A need for combination prevention strategies, tailored to high-risk key populations arises and technology-based interventions can be a valuable asset. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the delivery of existing services and added stress to existing public health and clinical structures but also highlighted the potential of exploiting technical solutions for interventions regarding infectious diseases. In this paper we report the design process, results and evaluation findings from the pilots of 'RiskRadar'-a web and mobile application aiming to support combination prevention, testing and linkage to care for HIV, viral hepatitis, various sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis.

METHODS:

RiskRadar was developed for the INTEGRATE Joint Action's aim to improve, adapt and pilot innovative digital tools for combination prevention. RiskRadar was designed iteratively using informed end-user-oriented approaches. Emphasis was placed on the Risk Calculator that enables users to assess their risk of exposure to one or more of the four disease areas, make informed decisions to seek testing or care and adjust their behaviours ultimately aiming to harm/risk reduction. RiskRadar has been piloted in three countries, namely Croatia, Italy and Lithuania.

RESULTS:

RiskRadar has been used 1347 times across all platforms so far. More than 90% of users have found RiskRadar useful and would use it again, especially the Risk Calculator component. Almost 49.25% are men and 29.85% are in the age group of 25-34. The application has scored 5.2/7 in the User Experience Questionnaire, where it is mainly described as "supportive" and "easy-to-use". The qualitative evaluation of RiskRadar also yielded positive feedback.

CONCLUSIONS:

Pilot results demonstrate above average satisfaction with RiskRadar and high user-reported usability scores, supporting the idea that technical interventions could significantly support combination prevention actions on Sexually Transmitted Infections.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Tuberculosis / Sexually Transmitted Diseases / HIV Infections / COVID-19 / Hepatitis, Viral, Human Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study / Qualitative research Limits: Adult / Humans / Male Language: English Journal: BMC Infect Dis Journal subject: Communicable Diseases Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: S12879-021-06501-0

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Tuberculosis / Sexually Transmitted Diseases / HIV Infections / COVID-19 / Hepatitis, Viral, Human Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study / Qualitative research Limits: Adult / Humans / Male Language: English Journal: BMC Infect Dis Journal subject: Communicable Diseases Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: S12879-021-06501-0