School of Videogames Development and Virtual Reality Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universidad de Talca, Campus Talca, Chile.
Internet Interdisciplinary Institute, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Castelldefels, Spain.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2020 Mar 17;8(3):e14568. doi: 10.2196/14568.
Advances in the development of information and communication technologies have facilitated social and sexual interrelationships, thanks to the websites and apps created to this end. However, these resources can also encourage sexual contacts without appropriate preventive measures in relation to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). How can users be helped to benefit from the advantages of these apps while keeping in mind those preventive measures?
This study aimed to prevent STIs by helping users to remember preventive measures in the risky situations.
We have used the design and creation methodology and have developed a software system. This system has two parts: an Android operating system app with emphasis on ubiquitous computing and gamification as well as a server with a webpage. First, a functional test with 5 men who have sex with men (MSM) allowed us to test the app with end users. In addition, a feasibility test with 4 MSM for a month allowed us to try the UBESAFE system with all its functionalities.
The main output is a system called UBESAFE that is addressed to MSM. The system has two main parts: (1) an app that sends preventive contextualized messages to users when they use a contact app or when they are near a point where sexual contacts are likely and (2) a server part that was managed by the public health agency of Barcelona (ASPB), which preserves the quality and pertinence of messages and places and offers instant help to users. To increase users' adherence, UBESAFE uses a gamified system to engage users in the creation of preventive messages. Users increased the initial pool of messages by more than 100% (34/30) and created more than 56% (9/16) of places (named hot zones).
The system helped MSM who used it to become conscious about HIV and other STIs. The system also helped the ASPB to stay in contact with MSM and to detect behaviors that could benefit from preventive measures. All functions were performed in a nonintrusive manner because users used the app privately. Furthermore, the system has shown how important it is to make users a part of the creation process as well as to develop apps that work by themselves and thus become useful to the users.
信息和通信技术的发展进步促进了社交和性关系的发展，这要归功于为此目的而创建的网站和应用程序。然而，这些资源也可能鼓励在没有适当的艾滋病毒和其他性传播感染（STI）预防措施的情况下进行性接触。如何帮助用户在考虑这些预防措施的同时从这些应用程序的优势中受益？
本研究旨在通过帮助用户记住高危情况下的预防措施来预防 STI。
我们使用了设计和创建方法，并开发了一个软件系统。该系统有两个部分：一个强调普遍计算和游戏化的安卓操作系统应用程序以及一个带有网页的服务器。首先，对 5 名男男性接触者（MSM）进行功能测试，使我们能够与最终用户一起测试应用程序。此外，4 名 MSM 进行了为期一个月的可行性测试，使我们能够尝试使用 UBESAFE 系统及其所有功能。
主要成果是一个名为 UBESAFE 的系统，面向 MSM。该系统有两个主要部分：（1）当用户使用联系人应用程序或接近可能发生性接触的地点时，向用户发送预防性上下文消息的应用程序；（2）由巴塞罗那公共卫生机构（ASPB）管理的服务器部分，该部分保留消息和地点的质量和相关性，并为用户提供即时帮助。为了提高用户的依从性，UBESAFE 使用游戏化系统来吸引用户创建预防性消息。用户将初始消息池增加了 100%以上（34/30），并创建了超过 56%（9/16）的地点（命名为热点区域）。
该系统帮助使用它的 MSM 提高了对艾滋病毒和其他 STI 的认识。该系统还帮助 ASPB 与 MSM 保持联系，并发现需要采取预防措施的行为。所有功能都是以非侵入性的方式执行的，因为用户私下使用应用程序。此外，该系统还表明，让用户参与创建过程以及开发自行运作的应用程序以使其对用户有用是多么重要。
