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
. 2023 Jan 28:9:2.
doi: 10.21037/mhealth-21-53. eCollection 2023.

Video selection and assessment for an app-based HIV prevention messaging intervention: formative research

Martin J Downing Jr  1 , Sarah E Wiatrek  2 , Ryan J Zahn  2 , Gordon Mansergh  3 , Evelyn Olansky  4 , Deborah Gelaude  3 , Patrick S Sullivan  2 , Rob Stephenson  5 , Aaron J Siegler  2 , José Bauermeister  6 , Keith J Horvath  7 , Mary Ann Chiasson  8 , Irene S Yoon  9 , Steven T Houang  10 , Anthony Jimenez Hernandez  11 , Sabina Hirshfield  12
Affiliations

Video selection and assessment for an app-based HIV prevention messaging intervention: formative research

Martin J Downing Jr et al. Mhealth. .

Abstract

Background: Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) continue to be overrepresented in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the United States. HIV prevention and care interventions that are tailored to an individual's serostatus have the potential to lower the rate of new infections among GBMSM. Mobile technology is a critical tool for disseminating targeted messaging and increasing uptake of basic prevention services including HIV testing, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Mobile Messaging for Men (M-Cubed) is a mobile health HIV prevention intervention designed to deliver video- and text-based prevention messages, provide STI and HIV information, and link GBMSM to prevention and healthcare resources. The current report describes an iterative process of identifying and selecting publicly available videos to be used as part of the M-Cubed intervention. We also conducted interviews with GBMSM to assess the acceptability, comprehension, and potential audience reach of the selected video messages.

Methods: The selection of videos included balancing of specific criteria [e.g., accuracy of scientific information, video length, prevention domains: HIV/STI testing, antiretroviral therapy (ART), PrEP, engagement in care, and condom use] to ensure that they were intended for our GBMSM audiences: HIV-negative men who engage in condomless anal sex, HIV-negative men who do not engage in condomless anal sex, and men living with HIV. This formative study included in-person interviews with 26 GBMSM from three U.S. cities heavily impacted by the HIV epidemic-New York City, Detroit, and Atlanta.

Results: Following a qualitative content analysis, the study team identified five themes across the interviews: participant reactions to the video messages, message comprehension, PrEP concerns, targeting of video messaging, and prompted action.

Conclusions: Study results informed a final selection of 12 video messages for inclusion in a randomized controlled trial of M-Cubed. Findings may serve as a guide for researchers who plan to develop HIV prevention interventions that utilize publicly available videos to promote behavioral change. Further, the findings presented here suggest the importance of developing videos with broad age and gender diversity for use in interventions such as M-Cubed, and in other health promotion settings.

Keywords: HIV; digital media; prevention communication; qualitative; videos.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://mhealth.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/mhealth-21-53/coif). PSS reports that his funding from CDC and NIH are payments made to his institution for other research projects, and they are not related to the present work. ISY has been a full-time employee of Mattel Global Consumer Insights since 2021, but received no support related to this publication. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV Surveillance Report, 2018. Available online: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/library/reports/hiv-surveillance.html [accessed 2021-02-25]
    1. Marcolino MS, Oliveira JAQ, D'Agostino M, et al. The Impact of mHealth Interventions: Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2018;6:e23. 10.2196/mhealth.8873 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sullivan PS, Driggers R, Stekler JD, et al. Usability and Acceptability of a Mobile Comprehensive HIV Prevention App for Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Pilot Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2017;5:e26. 10.2196/mhealth.7199 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fernandez MI, Harper GW, Hightow-Weidman LB, et al. Research Priorities to End the Adolescent HIV Epidemic in the United States: Viewpoint. JMIR Res Protoc 2021;10:e22279. 10.2196/22279 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Holloway IW, Rice E, Gibbs J, et al. Acceptability of smartphone application-based HIV prevention among young men who have sex with men. AIDS Behav 2014;18:285-96. 10.1007/s10461-013-0671-1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed