Jones Jeb, Butler Gareth, Woody Meaghan, Castel Amanda D, Kulie Paige, Sheets Martha, Scheim Ayden I, Reisner Sari L, Valencia Rachel, Wang Minglun, Stekler Joanne D, Sullivan Patrick S, Stephenson Rob
Department of Epidemiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States.
Department of Epidemiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, DC, United States.
JMIR Form Res. 2023 Sep 21;7:e51055. doi: 10.2196/51055.
Transmasculine people are at risk for HIV; yet few HIV prevention interventions have been developed for this population. We adapted an existing HIV prevention smartphone app for cisgender men who have sex with men to meet the sexual health needs of transmasculine people.
This study aims to assess the acceptability of the adapted app, Transpire, among transmasculine people living in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, DC, via in-depth interviews of participants in a pilot feasibility trial.
Participants used the Transpire app for 3 months as part of a pilot study of the app. Eligible participants were aged 18-34 years. There were no eligibility criteria with respect to race and ethnicity, and most participants were non-Hispanic White. At the end of the follow-up, participants were invited to participate in web-based in-depth interviews to discuss their experiences using the app and feedback on design and content. Interviews were transcribed and coded using a constant comparative approach. Three main themes were identified: sexual behavior, app experiences and feedback, and pre-exposure prophylaxis.
Overall, participants found the app acceptable and thought that it would be a useful tool for themselves and their peers. Participants reported appreciating having a comprehensive information source available to them on their phones and reported learning more about HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and pre-exposure prophylaxis via the app. They also reported appreciating the inclusive language that was used throughout the app. Although the app included some resources on mental health and substance use, participants reported that they would have appreciated more resources and information in these areas as well as more comprehensive information about other health concerns, including hormone therapy. Representative quotes are presented for each of the identified themes.
There is a desire to have greater access to reliable sexual health information among transmasculine people. Mobile apps like Transpire are an acceptable intervention to increase access to this information and other resources. More evidence is needed, however, from more racially and ethnically diverse samples of transmasculine people.
跨性别男性面临感染艾滋病毒的风险；然而，针对这一人群开发的艾滋病毒预防干预措施却很少。我们对一款现有的针对与男性发生性行为的顺性别男性的艾滋病毒预防智能手机应用程序进行了调整，以满足跨性别男性的性健康需求。
本研究旨在通过对一项试点可行性试验的参与者进行深入访谈，评估这款经过调整的应用程序Transpire在佐治亚州亚特兰大市和华盛顿特区的跨性别男性中的可接受性。
作为该应用程序试点研究的一部分，参与者使用Transpire应用程序3个月。符合条件的参与者年龄在18至34岁之间。在种族和族裔方面没有资格标准，大多数参与者是非西班牙裔白人。在随访结束时，邀请参与者参加基于网络的深入访谈，讨论他们使用该应用程序的体验以及对设计和内容的反馈。访谈进行了转录，并采用持续比较法进行编码。确定了三个主要主题：性行为、应用程序体验与反馈以及暴露前预防。
总体而言，参与者认为该应用程序是可以接受的，并认为它对自己和同龄人来说是一个有用的工具。参与者报告说，很高兴能在手机上获得全面的信息来源，并通过该应用程序了解到更多关于艾滋病毒、性传播感染和暴露前预防的知识。他们还表示赞赏整个应用程序中使用的包容性语言。尽管该应用程序包含了一些关于心理健康和药物使用的资源，但参与者报告说，他们希望在这些领域能有更多的资源和信息，以及关于其他健康问题（包括激素治疗）的更全面信息。针对每个确定的主题都给出了代表性的引述。
跨性别男性渴望获得更多可靠的性健康信息。像Transpire这样的移动应用程序是增加获取此类信息和其他资源的可接受干预措施。然而，需要从更多种族和族裔多样化的跨性别男性样本中获取更多证据。
