Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Sep;17(3):378-388.
doi: 10.1007/s13178-019-00402-3. Epub 2019 Sep 10.

Exploring potential implementation barriers and facilitators of the SMART Program, a stepped-care package of eHealth HIV prevention interventions for adolescent men who have sex with men

Ana Ventuneac  1 , Dennis H Li  2   3 , Melissa C Mongrella  2   3 , David A Moskowitz  2   3 , Kenneth R Weingardt  4 , C Hendricks Brown  5   6 , Jeffrey T Parsons  7 , Brian Mustanski  2   3   6
Affiliations

Exploring potential implementation barriers and facilitators of the SMART Program, a stepped-care package of eHealth HIV prevention interventions for adolescent men who have sex with men

Ana Ventuneac et al. Sex Res Social Policy. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Little is known about how to best implement eHealth HIV interventions for adolescent men who have sex with men (AMSM) in real-world settings. In response, our current study describes formative implementation research with community-based organizations (CBOs) in preparation for future implementation of the SMART Program, a stepped-care package of three interventions adapted for AMSM. In-depth interviews focusing on eHealth implementation were conducted with a convenience sample of 12 stakeholders from nine CBOs that actively implemented sexual-minority-focused HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Qualitative analysis was conducted using Dedoose to identify salient themes. Most programs implemented at the CBOs engaged adult MSM for HIV prevention, but CBOs reported less experience with outreach of AMSM for HIV prevention. While comfortable with and skilled at implementing traditional in-person HIV prevention programs, interviewees reported that eHealth programs fell outside of their organizations' technical capacities. They suggested specific strategies to facilitate successful implementation of SMART and other eHealth programs, including technical-capacity-building at CBOs, better training of staff, and partnering with a national coordinating center that provides support for the technology. Overall, the CBOs reported enthusiasm for the SMART Program and thought it an efficient way to bridge their current gaps in online programming and lack of AMSM HIV prevention strategies.

Keywords: HIV prevention; adolescent men who have sex with men; community-based organizations; eHealth programs; implementation science.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Overview of the SMART Program.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Bailey J, Mann S, Wayal S, Hunter R, Free C, Abraham C, & Murray E (2015). Sexual health promotion for young people delivered via digital media: A scoping review. Public Health Research, 3(13). doi:10.3310/phr03130 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Balaji AB, An Q, Smith JC, Newcomb ME, Mustanski B, Prachand NG, … National HIV Behavioral Surveillance for Young Men Who Have Sex with Men Study Group. (2018). High Human Immunodeficiency Virus incidence and prevalence and associated factors among adolescent sexual minority males-3 Cities, 2015. Clinical Infectious Disease, 66(6), 936–944. doi:10.1093/cid/cix902 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bennett GG, & Glasgow RE (2009). The delivery of public health interventions via the Internet: Actualizing their potential. Annual Review of Public Health, 30, 273–292. doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.031308.100235 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brener ND, Demissie Z, McManus T, Shanklin SL, Queen B, & Kann L (2017). School health profiles 2016: Characteristics of health programs among secondary schools. Retrieved from Atlanta, GA: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/profiles/pdf/2016/2016_Profiles_Re...
    1. Brown CH, Mohr DC, Gallo CG, Mader C, Palinkas L, Wingood G, … Poduska J (2013). A computational future for preventing HIV in minority communities: How advanced technology can improve implementation of effective programs. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 63(1), S72. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources