Department of Communication, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, United States of America.
Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2021 Mar 23;16(3):e0248705. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248705. eCollection 2021.
Mobile health (mHealth) can be beneficial in monitoring the complex healthcare regimen for people with HIV that includes adhering to medication and refraining from risky practices such as unsafe sex and injection drug use. Not only is mHealth often implemented without appropriate feasibility and acceptability research, but there is limited mHealth research among key HIV-positive populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW).
This study assessed access to and use of mobile technology and acceptability of mHealth among 150 HIV-positive MSM and TGW who were prescribed antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Malaysia-an emerging economy with rapid telecommunications growth and societal stigma against these groups.
Findings among the 114 MSM and 36 TGW reveal high levels of depression (42%), stigma (2.53/4.00) and risky sexual behavior (30%), and suboptimal ART adherence (22%). On the other hand, the sample had excellent access to smartphones (75.3%) and the internet (78%), and had high acceptance of mHealth especially for those with suboptimal ART adherence.
In settings like Malaysia where homosexuality and cross-dressing are socially and legally stigmatized, HIV prevention and treatment strategies delivered using an mHealth platform have the potential to overcome in-person barriers.
移动医疗（mHealth）可以有益于监测艾滋病毒感染者复杂的医疗方案，包括坚持用药和避免不安全的性行为和注射毒品等危险行为。mHealth 不仅经常在没有适当可行性和可接受性研究的情况下实施，而且在关键的艾滋病毒阳性人群（如男男性行为者（MSM）和跨性别女性（TGW））中的 mHealth 研究也很有限。
本研究评估了在马来西亚接受抗逆转录病毒治疗（ART）的 150 名艾滋病毒阳性 MSM 和 TGW 对移动技术的获取和使用情况以及对 mHealth 的可接受性，马来西亚是一个电信增长迅速且社会对这些群体存在污名化的新兴经济体。
在 114 名 MSM 和 36 名 TGW 中发现，存在较高的抑郁水平（42%）、污名（2.53/4.00）和危险性行为（30%），以及 ART 依从性不佳（22%）。另一方面，该样本对智能手机（75.3%）和互联网（78%）的获取程度很好，对 mHealth 的接受程度也很高，特别是对于那些 ART 依从性不佳的人。
在像马来西亚这样同性恋和跨性别是社会和法律上污名化的地方，使用 mHealth 平台提供的艾滋病毒预防和治疗策略有可能克服面对面的障碍。
