Putting prevention in their pockets: developing mobile phone-based HIV interventions for black men who have sex with men.
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Date
2013-04-09
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Abstract
Young black men who have sex with men MSM bear a disproportionate burden of HIV Rapid expansion of mobile technologies including smartphone applications apps provides a unique opportunity for outreach and tailored health messaging We collected electronic daily journals and conducted surveys and focus groups with 22 black MSM age 18 30 at three sites in North Carolina to inform the development of a mobile phone based intervention Qualitative data was analyzed thematically using NVivo Half of the sample earned under 11 000 annually All participants owned smartphones and had unlimited texting and many had unlimited data plans Phones were integral to participants lives and were a primary means of Internet access Communication was primarily through text messaging and Internet on line chatting social networking sites rather than calls Apps were used daily for entertainment information productivity and social networking Half of participants used their phones to find sex partners over half used phones to find health information For an HIV related app participants requested user friendly content about test site locators sexually transmitted diseases symptom evaluation drug and alcohol risk safe sex sexuality and relationships gay friendly health providers and connection to other gay HIV positive men For young black MSM in this qualitative study mobile technologies were a widely used acceptable means for HIV intervention Future research is needed to measure patterns and preferences of mobile technology use among broader samples
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Keywords
At risk for a particular disease or infection, Men (only), Client, Access to information or data, Supply of services, Demand for services, Feasibility, Safe sex, HIV/AIDS, Social and behavior change communication, Health education or promotion, Mass messaging campaigns, Appointment reminders, Treatment adherence, Disease prevention, SMS, Text, Voice, Internet, Installed application