title: Examining the Acceptability of mHealth Technology in HIV Prevention Among High-Risk Drug Users in Treatment.
abstract: Despite promising trends of the efficacy of mobile health (mHealth) based strategies to a broad range of health conditions, very few if any studies have been done in terms of the examining the use of mHealth in HIV prevention efforts among people who use drugs in treatment. Thus, the goal of this study was to gain insight into the real-world acceptance of mHealth approaches among high-risk people who use drugs in treatment. A convenience sample of 400 HIV-negative drug users, who reported drug- and/or sex-related risk behaviors, were recruited from a methadone clinic in New Haven, Connecticut. Participants completed standardized assessments of drug- and sex-related risk behaviors, neurocognitive impairment (NCI), and measures of communication technology access and utilization, and mHealth acceptance. We found a high prevalence of current ownership and use of mobile technologies, such as cell phone (91.5%) including smartphone (63.5%). Participants used mobile technologies to communicate mostly through phone calls (M = 4.25, SD = 1.24), followed by text messages (M = 4.21, SD = 1.29). Participants expressed interest in using mHealth for medication reminders (72.3%), receive information about HIV (65.8%), and to assess drug-related (72.3%) and sex-related behaviors (64.8%). Furthermore, participants who were neurocognitively impaired were more likely to use cell phone without internet and show considerable interest in using mHealth as compared to those without NCI. The findings from this study provide empirical evidence that mHealth-based programs, specifically cell phone text messaging-based health programs, may be acceptable to this high-risk population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine & Health Care, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, MC 6325, Farmington, CT, 06030-6325, USA. Roman.Shrestha@UConn.edu.|Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA. Roman.Shrestha@UConn.edu.
authors.forename: Roman
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4340-3101
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shrestha
authors.affiliation: Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.|Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Tania B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Huedo-Medina
authors.affiliation: Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.|Department of Internal Medicine, AIDS Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Frederick L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Altice
authors.affiliation: Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.|Department of Communication, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Archana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krishnan
authors.affiliation: Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.|Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Copenhaver
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; D000328:Adult; D040421:Cell Phone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003237:Connecticut; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D055030:Drug Users / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008691:Methadone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D058850:Opiate Substitution Treatment; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D000068997:Smartphone; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D060145:Text Messaging
chemical_list: D008691:Methadone
keywords: Neurocognitive impairment; People who use drugs; Substance abuse; Text messaging; mHealth