Putting prevention in their pockets: developing mobile phone-based HIV interventions for black men who have sex with men.

Young black men who have sex with men (MSM) bear a disproportionate burden of HIV. Rapid expansion of mobile technologies, including smartphone applications (apps), provides a unique opportunity for outreach and tailored health messaging. We collected electronic daily journals and conducted surveys and focus groups with 22 black MSM (age 18-30) at three sites in North Carolina to inform the development of a mobile phone-based intervention. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically using NVivo. Half of the sample earned under $11,000 annually. All participants owned smartphones and had unlimited texting and many had unlimited data plans. Phones were integral to participants' lives and were a primary means of Internet access. Communication was primarily through text messaging and Internet (on-line chatting, social networking sites) rather than calls. Apps were used daily for entertainment, information, productivity, and social networking. Half of participants used their phones to find sex partners; over half used phones to find health information. For an HIV-related app, participants requested user-friendly content about test site locators, sexually transmitted diseases, symptom evaluation, drug and alcohol risk, safe sex, sexuality and relationships, gay-friendly health providers, and connection to other gay/HIV-positive men. For young black MSM in this qualitative study, mobile technologies were a widely used, acceptable means for HIV intervention. Future research is needed to measure patterns and preferences of mobile technology use among broader samples.

HealthMpowerment.org: feasibility and acceptability of delivering an internet intervention to young Black men who have sex with men.

Young Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS in the USA and continue to experience rapidly increasing HIV incidence. We designed a tailored, theory-based interactive HIV/STI prevention website for young BMSM, called HealthMpowerment.org (HMP) and conducted a small pilot trial comparing HMP to currently available HIV/STI websites. We present findings demonstrating feasibility and acceptability of delivering the intervention to the target population of young BMSM. Retention rates were 90% and 78% at one- and three-month follow-ups, respectively. Evaluation immediately after the intervention's completion revealed that participants who used the HMP website reported high levels of user satisfaction and interest and low levels of website difficulty and frustration. At the end of the intervention, there was a trend in increased behavioral intentions to use condoms and engage in preparatory condom use behaviors in the intervention group compared to the control group (p=0.10). We observed a reduction in mean scores on the CES-D scale among those in the intervention group that was not seen in the control group at the one-month follow-up, though this was not statistically significant. Feedback from exit interviews with study participants suggested that HMP is relevant to the prevention needs of young BMSM. Overall, the findings support the acceptability and feasibility of delivering this prevention program to a group that has few interventions despite bearing a significant burden of the epidemic. Future trials, combining Internet and mobile phone technologies, are planned to test HMP among larger and more diverse populations of young BMSM.

HealthMpowerment.org: development of a theory-based HIV/STI website for young black MSM.

Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic, yet few prevention interventions have been developed specifically for them. Recent studies suggest that the Internet is a promising intervention delivery avenue. We describe results from our formative work in developing a theory-based online HIV/STI prevention intervention for young BMSM including focus groups, semistructured interviews, and usability testing. The Intervention, HealthMpowerment.org , was created based on the Institute of Medicine's integrated model of behavior change with extensive input from young BMSM. Key interactive Web site features include live chats, quizzes, personalized health and "hook-up/sex" journals, and decision support tools for assessing risk behaviors. Creating an interactive HIV/sexually transmitted infection web site for BMSM was a complex process requiring many adjustments based on iterative feedback throughout all development stages. Preliminary satisfaction, content acceptability, and usability findings support the use of the Internet to deliver risk reduction messages to young BMSM.

SafeTalk, a multicomponent, motivational interviewing-based, safer sex counseling program for people living with HIV/AIDS: a qualitative assessment of patients' views.

With the continued transmission of HIV each year, novel approaches to HIV prevention are needed. Since 2003, the U.S. HIV prevention focus has shifted from primarily targeting HIV-negative at-risk persons to including safer sex programs for people already infected with HIV. At least 20-30% of people infected with HIV engage in risky sexual practices. Based on these data, policymakers have recommended that interventionists develop strategies to help HIV-infected people reduce their risky sexual behaviors. In the past, the few safer sex interventions that targeted HIV-infected people met with limited success because they basically adapted strategies previously used with HIV-uninfected individuals. In addition, often these adaptations did not address issues of serostatus disclosure, HIV stigma, or motivation to protect others from HIV. We had previously tested, in a demonstration project named the Start Talking About Risks (STAR) Program, a monthly three-session motivational interviewing (MI)-based intervention to help people living with HIV practice safer sex. In this study, we refined that program by enhancing its frequency and intensity and adding written and audio components to support the counseling. We theorized that an intervention such as MI, which is tailored to each individual's circumstances more than standardized prevention messages, would be more successful when supplemented with other components. We qualitatively assessed participants' perceptions, reactions, and preferences to the refined prevention with positives counseling program we called SafeTalk and learned that participants found the SafeTalk MI counseling and educational materials appealing, understandable, and relevant to their lives.

Development of an interactive computer-assisted instruction (ICAI) program for patient prenatal genetic screening and carrier testing for use in clinical settings.

Educating patients on prenatal genetic screening and carrier testing in a timely and effective manner is faced with barriers including, providers' limited knowledge, and little time available to spend discussing screening and testing during a visit. This paper describes the use of cognitive response interviews (CRI) and usability testing (UT) in the development of an interactive computer assisted instruction (ICAI) program for use by prenatal patients in clinical settings. Lessons learned during the program development process included simplification of content and adaptation of navigational features in response to observations and interviews of a sample of patients representing the intended population. The resulting program functions as a targeted patient education program that maintains the level of medical information needed, as specified by professional practices guidelines, in a patient friendly format. In addition, this ICAI program functions as a research tool that can collect data on program effectiveness. Researchers developing other patient education programs will benefit from the lessons learned during development of this ICAI program by considering rephrasing of content to fit patient understanding, and adding navigational features to help further facilitate effective program use.

Development and initial testing of a computer-based patient decision aid to promote colorectal cancer screening for primary care practice.

BACKGROUND: Although colorectal cancer screening is recommended by major policy-making organizations, rates of screening remain low. Our aim was to develop a patient-directed, computer-based decision aid about colorectal cancer screening and investigate whether it could increase patient interest in screening. METHODS: We used content from evidence-based literature reviews and our previous decision aid research to develop a prototype. We performed two rounds of usability testing with representative patients to revise the content and format. The final decision aid consisted of an introductory segment, four test-specific segments, and information to allow comparison of the tests across several key parameters. We then conducted a before-after uncontrolled trial of 80 patients 50-75 years old recruited from an academic internal medicine practice. RESULTS: Mean viewing time was 19 minutes. The decision aid improved patients' intent to ask providers for screening from a mean score of 2.8 (1 = not at all likely to ask, 4 = very likely to ask) before viewing the decision aid to 3.2 afterwards (difference, 0.4; p < 0.0001, paired t-test). Most found the aid useful and reported that it improved their knowledge about screening. Sixty percent said they were ready to be tested, 18% needed more information, and 22% were not ready to be screened. Within 6 months of viewing, 43% of patients had completed screening tests. CONCLUSION: We conclude that a computer-based decision aid can increase patient intent to be screened and increase interest in screening. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This decision aid can be viewed by patients prior to provider appointments to increase motivation to be screened and to help them decide about which modality to use for screening. Further work is required to integrate the decision aid with other practice change strategies to raise screening rates to target levels.