A qualitative study to inform the development of a video game for adolescent HIV prevention.
OBJECTIVE
To inform the development of an interactive video game focused on behavior change to reduce risk and promote HIV prevention in young minority adolescents.


METHODS
We used qualitative methods guided by community-partnered research principles to conduct and analyze 16 individual interviews and six focus groups with 10-15 year old boys and girls (36 unique participants) at a neighborhood-based non-profit organization serving youth from low-resource neighborhoods.


RESULTS
We identified three recurring themes. Adolescents report protective factors and facilitators to engaging in risk behaviors including: 1) their personal ability to balance the tension between individuation and group membership; 2) the presence of stable mentor figures in their life; and 3) the neighborhood in which they live.


CONCLUSIONS
By conducting a qualitative study guided by community-partnered research principles, we identified themes from our target audience that could be translated into a video game-based intervention, including the storyline and character development. These methods may increase the intervention's efficacy at promoting HIV prevention by making them more tailored and relevant to a specific population.
Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.
Kimberly
K
Hieftje
Marjorie S
MS
Rosenthal
Deepa R
DR
Camenga
E Jennifer
EJ
Edelman
Lynn E
LE
Fiellin
Adolescent; HIV; qualitative research; risk; video games