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Acceptability of a mobile smartphone application intervention to improve access to HIV prevention and care services for black men who have sex with men in the district of columbia.
Digital culture & education
  • Matthew E. Levy, George Washington University
  • Christopher Chauncey Watson, George Washington University
  • Leo Wilton
  • Vittoria Criss, George Washington University
  • Irene Kuo, George Washington University
  • Sara Nelson Glick, George Washington University
  • Russell A. Brewer
  • Manya Magnus, George Washington University
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
11-1-2015
Inclusive Pages
169-191
Disciplines
Abstract

Eliminating racial HIV disparities among men who have sex with men (MSM) will require a greater uptake of HIV prevention and care interventions among Black MSM (BMSM), yet such strategies generally require meaningful engagement in a health care system that often does not meet the unique needs of BMSM. This study assessed the acceptability of, and correlates of having favorable perceptions of, a mobile smartphone application (app) intervention for BMSM that aims to remove structural barriers and improve access to culturally relevant HIV prevention and care services. An Internet-based sample of 93 BMSM completed an online survey on their perceptions of the app using 14 items measured on a 100-point visual analogue scale that were validated in exploratory factor analysis (alpha=0.95). Among the sample, perceptions of two sample app modules were generally favorable and most BMSM agreed that they would use the modules (81.2% and 87.1%). Correlates of having favorable perceptions included trusting medical advice from social networks, lacking private health insurance, and not having accessed a primary care physician in the last year. Our findings warrant the further development of this app and point to subgroups of BMSM for which it may have the greatest impact.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0
Peer Reviewed
1
Open Access
1
Citation Information
Matthew E. Levy, Christopher Chauncey Watson, Leo Wilton, Vittoria Criss, et al.. "Acceptability of a mobile smartphone application intervention to improve access to HIV prevention and care services for black men who have sex with men in the district of columbia." Digital culture & education Vol. 7 Iss. 2 (2015)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/leo-wilton/1/