Saber Rana, Mongrella Melissa, Matson Maggie, Carty-Fickes Eric, Novotny Jack, Pirog Sophia, Macapagal Kathryn, Mustanski Brian
Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Procedia Comput Sci. 2022;206:92-100. doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2022.09.088. Epub 2022 Sep 21.
Adolescent men who have sex with men (AMSM) experience high rates of HIV diagnoses and low utilization of HIV testing and prevention services. Meta-analyses and literature reviews have reported significant effects of online programs at reducing HIV and STI risk and improving use of protective behaviors. SMART is a stepped care package of eHealth interventions that comprehensively address the sexual health and HIV prevention needs of diverse 13-18 year old AMSM nationwide. As part of the online curriculum, educational tools were created to promote specific learning objectives, including the importance of STI and HIV testing. This study describes the use of an HIV and STI testing center locator custom designed for the SMART intervention to promote STI and HIV testing in AMSM. Data were collected between April 2018 and July 2020 as part of the SMART trial assessing the impact of the first intervention of the SMART program, titled SMART Sex Ed, on 13-18 year old AMSM. Measures included AMSM interaction data with the locator tool, history of HIV and STI testing, and confidence to get tested at baseline and 3 months post intervention. Upon entering the SMART program, most participants (69.3%) had never received an HIV or STI test in their lifetime. From those who were enrolled in SMART Sex Ed (n=1075), 82.6% used the custom developed HIV and STI testing center locator tool and those who used the tool were significantly more confident to receive an HIV test and STI test (p < 0.01). Qualitative feedback from SMART participants described the tool as interactive, useful, and easy to use. Preliminary data analysis suggests that our custom developed HIV and STI testing center locator is an acceptable and useful tool with potential for implementation outside the SMART Program. Future analysis should examine if the testing center locator is an acceptable and effective tool outside of the SMART intervention package. Given these results, providing AMSMs easy to use and acceptable online tools with comprehensive, culturally relevant didactic content can significantly improve AMSM's utilization of HIV testing and prevention services.
与男性发生性行为的青少年（AMSM）面临着较高的艾滋病毒诊断率，且艾滋病毒检测和预防服务的利用率较低。荟萃分析和文献综述表明，在线项目在降低艾滋病毒和性传播感染风险以及促进保护行为的采用方面具有显著效果。SMART是一套逐步推进的电子健康干预方案，全面满足全国13至18岁不同AMSM的性健康和艾滋病毒预防需求。作为在线课程的一部分，开发了教育工具以促进特定学习目标的实现，包括性传播感染和艾滋病毒检测的重要性。本研究描述了为SMART干预专门设计的艾滋病毒和性传播感染检测中心定位器在促进AMSM进行性传播感染和艾滋病毒检测方面的应用。作为评估SMART项目首次干预（名为SMART性教育）对13至18岁AMSM影响的SMART试验的一部分，于2018年4月至2020年7月收集了数据。测量指标包括AMSM与定位工具的交互数据、艾滋病毒和性传播感染检测史，以及干预前基线和干预后3个月的检测信心。在进入SMART项目时，大多数参与者（69.3%）一生中从未接受过艾滋病毒或性传播感染检测。在参与SMART性教育的人群（n = 1075）中，82.6%使用了定制开发的艾滋病毒和性传播感染检测中心定位工具，使用该工具的人对接受艾滋病毒检测和性传播感染检测的信心明显更高（p < 0.01）。SMART参与者的定性反馈称该工具具有交互性、实用性且易于使用。初步数据分析表明，我们定制开发的艾滋病毒和性传播感染检测中心定位器是一个可接受且有用的工具，具有在SMART项目之外实施的潜力。未来的分析应考察该检测中心定位器在SMART干预方案之外是否是一个可接受且有效的工具。鉴于这些结果，为AMSM提供易于使用且可接受的在线工具，并配备全面、与文化相关的教学内容，可显著提高AMSM对艾滋病毒检测和预防服务的利用率。
