TY - JOUR
T1 - OPT-In For Life
T2 - A Mobile Technology–Based Intervention to Improve HIV Care Continuum for Young Adults Living With HIV
AU - Zurlo, John
AU - Du, Ping
AU - Haynos, Alexander
AU - Collins, Verbenia
AU - Eshak, Tarek
AU - Whitener, Cynthia
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Dr. Patsi Albright, Jameson Collins, Tina Cornelious, Dr. Tonya Crook, Sarah DeChamplain, Laurel Dubble, Yolanda Edrington, Stephanie Fisher, Rosalee Frederick, Rebecca Geiser, Regina King, Elizabeth Leen, Matthew Mahoney, Jozelle Mator, Christine Quimby, Kimberly Snyder, Yaritsa Vargas, and all of our study participants for their important contributions to this intervention. This publication was made possible by award number H97HA28893 from the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), HIV/AIDS Bureau’s Special Projects of National Significance Program. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the government. The authors do not have any financial interests/relationships to disclose.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Society for Public Health Education.
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - Young adults living with HIV (YALH) have lower rates of retention in care and HIV viral suppression. Multiple barriers exist to engage YALH in care. We developed and implemented a multifaceted, mobile application-based intervention, “OPT-In for Life,” by targeting YALH to encourage retention in care and eventually viral suppression. The app integrated multiple user-friendly features for YALH to manage their HIV care, including a two-way secure messaging function, HIV-related laboratory results, and appointment or medication reminders. We recruited 92 YALH who were 18 to 34 years old and were newly diagnosed with HIV, had a history of falling out of care, or had a detectable HIV viral load into this intervention. Study participants used the app to manage their HIV care and to communicate and interact with their HIV care team. During the intervention period, the retention rate among our study participants increased from 41.3% at baseline to 78.6% at 6-month follow-up, maintained at 12-month follow-up (79.8%), and slightly decreased to 73.4% at 18-month follow-up but it was still significantly higher than the baseline retention rate (p <.0001). The viral suppression rate (HIV RNA <200 copies/ml) increased from 64.1% at baseline to about 85% at 6-month and at 12-month follow-up and reached 91.4% at 18-month (p =.0002) among participants who were retained in care. Our study demonstrated using a HIPAA-compliant mobile application as an effective intervention to engage YALH in care. This mobile technology–based intervention can be incorporated into routine clinical practice to improve HIV care continuum.
AB - Young adults living with HIV (YALH) have lower rates of retention in care and HIV viral suppression. Multiple barriers exist to engage YALH in care. We developed and implemented a multifaceted, mobile application-based intervention, “OPT-In for Life,” by targeting YALH to encourage retention in care and eventually viral suppression. The app integrated multiple user-friendly features for YALH to manage their HIV care, including a two-way secure messaging function, HIV-related laboratory results, and appointment or medication reminders. We recruited 92 YALH who were 18 to 34 years old and were newly diagnosed with HIV, had a history of falling out of care, or had a detectable HIV viral load into this intervention. Study participants used the app to manage their HIV care and to communicate and interact with their HIV care team. During the intervention period, the retention rate among our study participants increased from 41.3% at baseline to 78.6% at 6-month follow-up, maintained at 12-month follow-up (79.8%), and slightly decreased to 73.4% at 18-month follow-up but it was still significantly higher than the baseline retention rate (p <.0001). The viral suppression rate (HIV RNA <200 copies/ml) increased from 64.1% at baseline to about 85% at 6-month and at 12-month follow-up and reached 91.4% at 18-month (p =.0002) among participants who were retained in care. Our study demonstrated using a HIPAA-compliant mobile application as an effective intervention to engage YALH in care. This mobile technology–based intervention can be incorporated into routine clinical practice to improve HIV care continuum.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089190379&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85089190379&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1524839920936247
DO - 10.1177/1524839920936247
M3 - Article
C2 - 32757835
AN - SCOPUS:85089190379
SN - 1524-8399
VL - 21
SP - 727
EP - 737
JO - Health promotion practice
JF - Health promotion practice
IS - 5
ER -
