Routinizing HIV testing for Adolescents

Media Rez, Llc, Washington DC

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This study will aim to assess the feasibility and acceptability of using state-of-the-art social media and game technology to increase HIV testing among adolescents and young adults (AYA) ages 13-24. Rates of HIV testing among AYA are low, resulting in high proportions of AYA who are positive or unaware of their HIV infection. Further, public health messages which can be effective in older adults do not achieve the same results in AYA. Since many AYA are highly engaged with social media and games, these technologies may hold the key to reaching this population. While previous behavior change games have shown positive results by using the compelling nature of gameplay to make health education entertaining and shift attitudes towards disease prevention, this intervention proposes to incorporate a new innovation which changes the way video games are used to increase HIV testing and linkage to care. The intended result is a novel social media experience which plays like a game while prompting dialogue about HIV risk assessment, testing, and linkage to care-- in a population more interested in dialogue than in hearing one-way health promotion messages. We hypothesize that the intended result will be both a marketable product and an effective, evidence-based behavioral intervention that increases access to and uptake of HIV testing and linkage to care among AYA. Our multidisciplinary team will recruit AYA to assist in informing the development of a prototype social media game accessible from smartphones, tablets, and the Web. The intervention will be developed with input from AYA, as well as health care providers, to increase acceptability and conduct feasibility testing and revisions to increase game performance and acceptability. During a 6-month period, we will work with AYA to assess the acceptability of the game and its potential impact on perceptions of HIV risk, prevention and testing; perceptions regarding barriers to testing and linkage to care, changes in motivation and readiness to test, and increased self-efficacy regarding health promotion and HIV prevention. We anticipate the results will demonstrate feasibility and provide data to inform a Phase II study to test the efficacy of the game on increasing testing and linkage to care through a larger randomized controlled trial as well as provide a more significant level of feedback on playability, art and animation styles, player engagement, and overall acceptability. Successful completion of these aims will demonstrate how this product may advance the effective implementation of an evidence-based behavioral intervention for increased testing and linkage to care among youth. Successful development of this core technology could also be revised to be applicable to other medical conditions.