@Article{info:doi/10.2196/36917,
author="Shrestha, Roman
and Maviglia, Francesca
and Altice, Frederick L
and DiDomizio, Elizabeth
and Khati, Antoine
and Mistler, Colleen
and Azwa, Iskandar
and Kamarulzaman, Adeeba
and Halim, Mohd Akbar Ab
and Wickersham, Jeffrey A",
title="Mobile Health Technology Use and the Acceptability of an mHealth Platform for HIV Prevention Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Malaysia: Cross-sectional Respondent-Driven Sampling Survey",
journal="J Med Internet Res",
year="2022",
month="Jul",
day="25",
volume="24",
number="7",
pages="e36917",
keywords="HIV; mHealth; men who have sex with men; mobile phone; Malaysia; mobile health; HIV prevention; sexual health; public health; digital health; communication technology; health technology; technology accessibility; smartphone app; HIV treatment",
abstract="Background: The growth in mobile technology access, utilization, and services holds great promise in facilitating HIV prevention efforts through mobile health (mHealth) interventions in Malaysia. Despite these promising trends, there is a dearth of evidence on the use of mHealth platforms that addresses HIV prevention among Malaysian men who have sex with men. Objective: The goal of this study was to gain insight into (1) access and utilization of communication technology (eg, landline phone, internet, mobile phone), (2) acceptability of mHealth-based interventions for HIV prevention services, and (3) preferences regarding the format and frequency of mHealth interventions among Malaysian men who have sex with men. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey with Malaysian men who have sex with men between July 2018 and March 2020. Participants were recruited using respondent-driven sampling in the Greater Kuala Lumpur region of Malaysia. We collected information on demographic characteristics, HIV risk-related behaviors, access to and the frequency of use of communication technology, and acceptability of using mHealth for HIV prevention using a self-administered questionnaire with a 5-point scale (1, never; 2, rarely; 3, sometimes; 4, often; 5, all the time). Results: A total of 376 men participated in the survey. Almost all respondents owned or had access to a smartphone with internet access (368/376, 97.9{\%}) and accessed the internet daily (373/376, 99.2{\%}), mainly on a smartphone (334/376, 88.8{\%}). Participants on average used smartphones primarily for social networking (mean 4.5, SD 0.8), followed by sending or receiving emails (mean 4.0, SD 1.0), and searching for health-related information (mean 3.5, SD 0.9). There was high acceptance of the use of mHealth for HIV prevention (mean 4.1, SD 1.5), including for receiving HIV prevention information (345/376, 91.8{\%}), receiving medication reminders (336/376, 89.4{\%}), screening and monitoring sexual activity (306/376, 81.4{\%}) or illicit drug use (281/376, 74.7{\%}), and monitoring drug cravings (280/376, 74.5{\%}). Participants overwhelmingly preferred a smartphone app over other modalities (eg, text, phone call, email) for engaging in mHealth HIV prevention tools. Preference for app notifications ranged from 186/336 (53.9{\%}), for receiving HIV prevention information, to 212/336 (69.3{\%}), for screening and monitoring sexual activity. Acceptance of mHealth was higher for those who were university graduates (P=.003), living in a relationship with a partner (P=.04), engaged in sexualized drug use (P=.01), and engaged in receptive anal sex (P=.006). Conclusions: Findings from this study provide support for developing and deploying mHealth strategies for HIV prevention using a smartphone app in men who have sex with men---a key population with suboptimal engagement in HIV prevention and treatment. ",
issn="1438-8871",
doi="10.2196/36917",
url="https://www.jmir.org/2022/7/e36917",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/36917",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35877172"
}