Abstract
Statement of the Problem
Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) with HIV are a difficult population to retain in care, which negatively affects viral suppression. This study piloted Bijou, a program designed to provide accurate health education through electronically delivered behavior and risk reduction intervention modules.
Participants
Participants were YMSM with HIV aged 17-24 from an adolescent infectious disease clinic in the southeastern US.
Procedures
Eligible participants were approached during normal clinic visits. Participants who wished to enroll in Bijou completed demographic items and a pre-test. After completing all modules, participants were asked to complete a post-test and three month follow up (3MFU) survey. Pre, post, and 3MFU surveys included items assessing module-related knowledge and intervention acceptability, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the eHealth Literacy Scale, and a System Usability Scale.
Results
29 YMSM enrolled and completed a pre-test. Only 11 completed all modules and the post-test, and only 10 completed the 3MFU. Participants with complete data for all surveys ranged in age from 19 to 24 (M=21.71, SD=2.06). Findings revealed significant improvement in module content knowledge (possible range: 0-78) from pre-test (n = 7, m = 62.43, SD = 8.059, range: 47 - 70) to post-test (n = 7, m = 67.71, SD = 7.521, range: 25 - 73), t(6) = 8.205, p < .001. There were significant improvements in HIV health literacy (t(6) = 3.032, p < .012), general health and wellness (t(6) = 3.667, p < .005), personal growth (t(6) = 2.500, p = .023), and managing HIV (t(6) = 2.646, p = .019). Although scores remained higher than pre-test, differences lost significance at 3MFU.
Self-efficacy scores (possible range: 5 - 50) did not show significant differences from pre-test (n = 8, m = 45.38, SD = 5.370, range: 33 - 50) to post-test (n = 8, m = 43.75, SD = 8.430, range: 26 - 50) nor 3MFU (n = 8, m = 46.50, SD = 5.318, range: 38 - 50).
E-Health Literacy Scale scores (possible range: 10-50) showed significant improvement from pre-test (n = 8, m = 40.63, SD = 3.962, range: 33 - 45) to post-test (n = 8, m = 45.00, SD = 4.690, range: 38 - 50), t(7) = 2.768, p = .014. Improvements trended toward significance at 3MFU (n = 8, m = 43.25, SD = 4.892, range: 37 - 50), t(7) = 1.649, p =.071.
Participants considered Bijou a usable and acceptable intervention, citing ease of use and privacy of completing the program by laptop or smartphone as desirable characteristics. They also provided positive feedback about the quality of module content. Competing demands on time and illness were cited as reasons for attrition. In many cases, participants expressed an intent to complete but never did despite follow up phone calls, text messages, emails, and/or social media messaging.
Conclusions
While a small sample size significantly limits generalizability, pilot data suggest promise for Bijou as a mobile health strategy for improving health literacy among YMSM. Future research is needed to test the efficacy of Bijou using a larger and more representative sample.
Original language | American English |
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State | Published - Aug 1 2019 |
Event | Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association - Chicago, IL Duration: Aug 1 2019 → … |
Conference
Conference | Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association |
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Period | 8/1/19 → … |
Keywords
- e-Health
- HIV
- YMSM
- Mobile Health
- Health Literacy
Disciplines
- Health Information Technology
- Public Health Education and Promotion
- Health Psychology