title: 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.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Matthew E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Christopher Chauncey
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY ; Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wilton
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Vittoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Criss
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Sara Nelson
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Glick
authors.affiliation: Louisiana Public Health Institute, New Orleans, LA.
authors.forename: Russell A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Brewer
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Manya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Magnus
keywords: Black men who have sex with men; HIV; app; application; mobile; smartphone; structural barriers; technology