Piloting a Mobile App for HIV Risk Reduction among Young Latinas & Black Females

在拉丁裔年轻人中试点降低艾滋病毒风险的移动应用程序

• 批准号: 8466049
• 负责人: Sonia K Gonzalez
• 金额: $ 3.71万
• 依托单位: CUNY GRADUATE SCH AND UNIV CTR
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-25 至 2014-09-24
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8466049
• 关键词: AIDS prevention; Accounting; Address; Age; Area; Award; Behavior Therapy; Cellular Phone; Color; Contracts; Data Analyses; Data Collection; Development; Diagnosis; Enrollment; Experimental Designs; Female; Focus Groups; Fostering; Funding; Goals; HIV; HIV Infections; HIV/STD; Hand; Health; Health Services Accessibility; Health education; Incidence; Infection; Internet; Intervention; Interview; Knowledge; Latina; Life; Location; Marketing; Mentors; Methods; Mexican Americans; National Institute of Mental Health; Outcome; Outcome Study; Ownership; Participant; Pathway Analysis; Pattern; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Pilot Projects; Plan B; Policies; Population; Pregnancy Tests; Prevention; Public Health; Publications; Qualitative Methods; Randomized; Recommendation; Recording of previous events; Reporting; Reproductive Health; Reproductive Health Services; Research; Research Design; Research Personnel; Research Priority; Research Training; Risk; Risk Behaviors; Risk Reduction; Services; Sexual Health; Sexual Transmission; Site; Social Network; Social Work; System; Target Populations; Techniques; Technology; Testing; Training; United States National Institutes of Health; Vulnerable Populations; Woman; Work; Youth; age group; aged; arm; career; condoms; design; doctoral student; evidence base; improved; innovation; intervention program; meetings; peer; prevent; primary outcome; protective behavior; research study; skills; social cognitive theory; substance abuse treatment; suburb; theories; transmission process; trend; urban area; young adult; young woman

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Of the more than 1.7 million estimated people ever infected with HIV in the U.S., new infections are highest among young Latinas and young Black women. HIV incidence rates among youth in the U.S. have either remained constant or are increasing, primarily due to sexual transmission. Given that young people between ages 13-29 have the highest HIV incidence and a substantial need of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, and this population has a high smartphone ownership in comparison to other age groups, mobile platforms may offer an effective opportunity to decrease HIV/STI risk behaviors. The development of a smartphone app informed by youth peer educators (18 to 21y.o.) not yet released in the market offers a unique opportunity to conduct an experimental design study to understand how young Latinas and Black women (YLBW) use the app and how it influences knowledge of SRH services. Specifically, the proposed pilot project examines if YLBW ages 18-25 who use a smartphone app for SRH information can achieve increased knowledge and utilization of SRH services such as PEP, Plan B, HIV, STI, and pregnancy testing, and to other social services, such as substance abuse treatment. This pilot project will draw from social cognitive theory, social network theory, and interactive technology pedagogy frameworks to address the following two aims: (1) Identify and explore the settings and situations where participants will use a location enabled SRH smartphone app, and further tailor the app content to meet the needs of the target audience. (2) Pilot an intervention to assess whether access to an SRH smartphone application, including push messages, versus self-directed SRH education improves knowledge and increases the use of SRH services such as Plan B, PEP, HIV, other STI, and pregnancy testing. We propose those with access to an SRH app will have better knowledge and greater use of SRH services. Analysis for the first aim will apply grounded theory and for the second aim, will compare differences between the intervention and comparison arms, and will also include social network analysis. The proposed research and training plans are additionally designed to foster my development as a public health researcher by further strengthening my quantitative, technological, publication, and grantsmanship skill sets in order to launch a successful career as an academic researcher. My career goal is to prepare for a career as an independent HIV/STI/SRH researcher in developing, researching and implementing culturally competent and effective behavioral interventions, in order to make evidenced-based HIV prevention recommendations for young people of color. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Smartphone applications and mobile technologies more generally offer the potential to provide information (e.g., proper condom use, directions to a testing site, PEP or Plan B) to a highly vulnerable population and their networks, allowing users to access it when it is needed most. The findings of this research will be important contributions to the field as no other studies are available which currently explore how smartphone apps impact Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) knowledge, use of services and connect young women of color to HIV, STI, and pregnancy testing and/or social services. The proposed project will expand researchers' limited knowledge about how best to educate and intervene among Latina and Black women ages 18-25 to prevent HIV/STIs and address its sequalae (such as late diagnosis, access to care, and the risk of poor health outcomes among those who contract HIV/STI), which has been shown to be worse among youth of color.

描述(由申请人提供)：在美国估计有170多万艾滋病毒感染者中，年轻的拉丁裔和年轻的黑人女性中新感染人数最多。美国年轻人中的艾滋病毒发病率要么保持不变，要么正在上升，主要是由于性传播。鉴于13-29岁的年轻人艾滋病毒发病率最高，对性健康和生殖健康(SRH)服务的需求量很大，而且与其他年龄段相比，这一群体拥有较高的智能手机拥有量，移动平台可能会提供一个有效的机会来减少艾滋病毒/性传播感染的危险行为。开发一款智能手机应用程序，由青年同伴教育者(18至21岁)提供信息尚未在市场上发布提供了一个独特的机会，可以进行实验性设计研究，以了解年轻的拉丁裔和黑人女性(YLBW)如何使用该应用程序，以及它如何影响SRH服务的知识。具体地说，拟议的试点项目审查了18-25岁使用智能手机应用程序获取SRH信息的YLBW是否可以增加对SRH服务的了解和利用，如PEP、B计划、艾滋病毒、性传播感染和怀孕测试，以及其他社会服务，如药物滥用治疗。这个试点项目将借鉴社会认知理论、社会网络理论和互动技术教学框架，以解决以下两个目标：(1)确定和探索参与者将使用具有位置功能的SRH智能手机应用程序的环境和情况，并进一步定制应用程序内容以满足目标受众的需求。(2)试点一项干预措施，以评估与自我指导的SRH教育相比，访问SRH智能手机应用程序(包括推送消息)是否提高了知识，并增加了对计划B、PEP、艾滋病毒、其他性传播感染和怀孕测试等SRH服务的使用。我们建议那些能够访问SRH应用程序的人将更好地了解和更多地使用SRH服务。第一个目标的分析将应用扎根理论，第二个目标将比较干预和比较部门之间的差异，还将包括社会网络分析。拟议的研究和培训计划还旨在通过进一步加强我的量化、技术、出版和资质技能来促进我作为公共卫生研究人员的发展，以便开始作为一名成功的学术研究人员的职业生涯。我的职业目标是准备成为一名独立的HIV/STI/SRH研究人员，开发、研究和实施符合文化能力的有效行为干预措施，以便为有色人种年轻人提供基于证据的艾滋病毒预防建议。 与公共健康相关：智能手机应用程序和移动技术更普遍地提供了向高度脆弱的人群及其网络提供信息(例如，正确使用安全套、检测地点的方向、PEP或B计划)的可能性，允许用户在最需要的时候访问这些信息。这项研究的结果将是对该领域的重要贡献，因为目前还没有其他研究探讨智能手机应用程序如何影响性健康和生殖健康(SRH)知识、服务的使用以及将有色人种年轻女性与艾滋病毒、性传播感染、怀孕检测和/或社会服务联系起来。拟议的项目将扩大研究人员有限的知识，了解如何最好地在18-25岁的拉丁裔和黑人妇女中进行教育和干预，以预防艾滋病毒/性传播感染并解决其后遗症(如延迟诊断、获得护理的机会，以及感染艾滋病毒/性传播疾病的人健康结果不佳的风险)，而有色人种青年的情况更糟。