Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2014 Oct 29;2(4):e47. doi: 10.2196/mhealth.3745.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that sexually active men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States test for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) at least three times per year, but actual testing frequency is much less frequent. Though mHealth is a popular vehicle for delivering HIV interventions, there are currently no mobile phone apps that target MSM with the specific aim of building an HIV testing plan, and none that focuses on developing a comprehensive prevention plan and link MSM to additional HIV prevention and treatment resources. Previous research has suggested a need for more iterative feedback from the target population to ensure use of these interventions.
The purpose of this study is to understand MSM's preferences for functionality, format, and design of a mobile phone-based HIV prevention app and to examine MSM's willingness to use an app for HIV prevention.
We conducted focus group discussions with 38 gay and bisexual men, with two in-person groups in Atlanta, two in Seattle, and one online focus group discussion with gay and bisexual men in rural US regions. These discussions addressed MSM's general preferences for apps, HIV testing barriers and facilitators for MSM, and ways that an HIV prevention app could address these barriers and facilitators to increase the frequency of HIV testing and prevention among MSM. During focus group discussions, participants were shown screenshots and provided feedback on potential app functions.
Participants provided preferences on functionality of the app, including the type and delivery of educational content, the value of interactive engagement, and the importance of social networking as an app component. Participants also discussed preferences on how the language should be framed for the delivery of information, identifying that an app needs to be simultaneously fun and professional. Privacy and altruistic motivation were considered to be important factors in men's willingness to use a mobile HIV prevention app. Finally, men described the potential impact that a mobile HIV prevention app could have, identifying individual, interpersonal, and community-based benefits.
In summary, participants described a comprehensive app that should incorporate innovative ideas to educate and engage men so that they would be motivated to use the app. In order for an app to be useful, it needs to feel safe and trustworthy, which is essential when considering the app's language and privacy. Participants provided a range of preferences for using an HIV prevention app, including what they felt MSM need with regards to HIV prevention and what they want in order to engage with an app. Making an HIV prevention app enjoyable and usable for MSM is a difficult challenge. However, the usability of the app is vital because no matter how great the intervention, if MSM do not use the app, then it will not be useful.
美国疾病控制与预防中心建议，有性行为的男男性行为者（MSM）应至少每年进行三次艾滋病毒（HIV）检测，但实际检测频率要低得多。虽然移动医疗是提供艾滋病毒干预措施的一种流行方式，但目前还没有专门针对 MSM 的手机应用程序，旨在制定 HIV 检测计划，也没有专注于制定全面预防计划并将 MSM 与更多的 HIV 预防和治疗资源联系起来的应用程序。先前的研究表明，需要从目标人群获得更多的迭代反馈，以确保使用这些干预措施。
本研究旨在了解 MSM 对基于手机的艾滋病毒预防应用程序的功能、格式和设计的偏好，并研究 MSM 使用艾滋病毒预防应用程序的意愿。
我们对 38 名男同性恋和双性恋男性进行了焦点小组讨论，其中两组在亚特兰大进行，两组在西雅图进行，一组通过网络对美国农村地区的男同性恋和双性恋男性进行了焦点小组讨论。这些讨论涉及 MSM 对应用程序的一般偏好、MSM 进行 HIV 检测的障碍和促进因素，以及 HIV 预防应用程序如何解决这些障碍和促进因素，以增加 MSM 进行 HIV 检测和预防的频率。在焦点小组讨论中，向参与者展示了屏幕截图，并就潜在的应用程序功能提供了反馈。
参与者对应用程序的功能提出了偏好，包括教育内容的类型和传递方式、互动参与的价值以及作为应用程序组件的社交网络的重要性。参与者还讨论了如何构建信息传递的语言框架，他们认为应用程序需要同时具有趣味性和专业性。隐私和利他主义动机被认为是男性使用移动艾滋病毒预防应用程序的重要因素。最后，男性描述了移动艾滋病毒预防应用程序可能产生的影响，确定了个人、人际和社区层面的益处。
总之，参与者描述了一个全面的应用程序，该应用程序应结合创新理念来教育和吸引男性，从而激发他们使用该应用程序的动机。为了使应用程序有用，它需要感觉安全和值得信赖，这在考虑应用程序的语言和隐私时至关重要。参与者对使用艾滋病毒预防应用程序提出了一系列偏好，包括他们认为 MSM 在艾滋病毒预防方面需要什么，以及他们想要什么才能与应用程序互动。使艾滋病毒预防应用程序对 MSM 来说既有趣又可用是一个具有挑战性的难题。然而，应用程序的可用性至关重要，因为无论干预措施多么出色，如果 MSM 不使用该应用程序，那么它将毫无用处。
