Abstract
BackgroundLinkage to and retention in HIV care are challenging, especially in the Southeastern United States. The rise in mobile phone app use and the potential for an app to deliver just in time messaging provides a new opportunity to improve linkage and retention among people living with HIV (PLWH).ObjectiveThis study aimed to develop an app to engage, link, and retain people in care. We evaluated the acceptability, feasibility, and impact of the app among users.MethodsApp development was informed by principles of chronic disease self-management and formative interviews with PLWH. Once developed, the app was distributed among participants, and usability feedback was incorporated in subsequent iterations. We interviewed app users after 3 weeks to identify usability issues, need for training on the phone or app, and to assess acceptability. We tracked and analyzed usage of app features for the cohort over 2 years.ResultsA total of 77 participants used the app during the pilot study. The query response rate for the first 2 years was 47.7%. Query response declined at a rate of 0.67% per month. The community message board was the most popular feature, and 77.9% (60/77) of users posted on the board at least once during the 2 years.ConclusionsThe PositiveLinks app was feasible and acceptable among nonurban PLWH. High participation on the community message board suggests that social support from peers is important for people recently diagnosed with or returning to care for HIV.
Highlights
Recent scientific advances have shown that antiretroviral therapy (ART) preserves the health, quality of life, and life expectancy of people living with HIV, but people living with HIV who take HIV medicine as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to their
This vision is a core focus of CDC’s high-impact HIV prevention strategy, which aims to achieve the greatest possible reductions in HIV infections by making sure that resources go to the regions, populations, and prevention strategies where they will have the greatest impact
This fact sheet explains the various approaches and data used to develop the HIV care continuum, how it is used to improve outcomes for people living with HIV in the United States, and how it helps guide the nation’s response to HIV
Summary
Recent scientific advances have shown that antiretroviral therapy (ART) preserves the health, quality of life, and life expectancy of people living with HIV, but people living with HIV who take HIV medicine as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to their These developments have transformed the nation’s approach to HIV prevention. The continuum is the series of steps from the time a person receives a diagnosis of HIV through the successful treatment of their infection with HIV medications This fact sheet explains the various approaches and data used to develop the HIV care continuum, how it is used to improve outcomes for people living with HIV in the United States, and how it helps guide the nation’s response to HIV. Increasing the proportion of HIV-diagnosed 80% individuals whose virus is effectively suppressed to 80%, with an emphasis on youth and persons who inject drugs
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