Feasibility and Acceptability of an Adolescent-Friendly Rap Video to Improve Health Literacy Among HIV-Positive Youth in Urban Peru

Carly A Rodriguez,Lenka Kolevic,Nicole Ocasio Martínez,Milagros Wong,Alexander Winnett,Lady J Perez,Neha Krishnam,Molly F Franke,Leonid Lecca

doi:10.1007/s10461-020-03098-4

Abstract

Clinical outcomes among adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) might be improved by interventions aimed at addressing limited health literacy. We developed a Spanish-language rap video on HIV concepts and examined its acceptability and feasibility as a learning tool among ALHIV in Lima, Peru. Twenty-eight ALHIV receiving care at an urban pediatric hospital and ten stakeholders engaged in the care of adolescents watched the video. Adolescents completed a pre- and post-video questionnaire. We conducted focus groups with ALHIV and in-depth interviews with stakeholders and analyzed transcripts to identify themes. ALHIV described concepts of CD4 cell count and viral load as they were portrayed. Participants reported the video was relatable, accessible, and provided hope that ALHIV could lead healthy lives and advocated for future videos to address topics such as transmission and sexual health. Questionnaires indicated some improvement in viral load knowledge. An HIV health literacy music video intervention was feasible to implement and accepted by ALHIV and their healthcare providers. Communicating HIV knowledge via music videos may be promising; further study is needed to optimize implementation.

Highlights

ParticipantsDeclines in HIV virologic suppression and adherence to combination antiretroviral therapy are common during adolescence [1,2,3], a time during which HIV management ideally becomes more autonomous in preparation for the transition to adult care [4]
Across five systematic reviews of interventions implemented over the period 2001–2018 to improve linkage, retention, and adherence to HIV care among adolescents and youth [9, 16,17,18,19], no interventions were identified among adolescents living with HIV/AIDS (ALHIV) in Latin America and only one intervention was implemented in the Caribbean [20]
There is a substantial dearth of evidence on interventions tailored to ALHIV from diverse settings, especially related to improving health literacy

Summary

Introduction

Declines in HIV virologic suppression and adherence to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) are common during adolescence [1,2,3], a time during which HIV management ideally becomes more autonomous in preparation for the transition to adult care [4]. Despite increasing calls for “adolescentfriendly” services [9, 10], there are few studies on strategies for improving health literacy among adolescents living with HIV/AIDS (ALHIV). Across five systematic reviews of interventions implemented over the period 2001–2018 to improve linkage, retention, and adherence to HIV care among adolescents and youth [9, 16,17,18,19], no interventions were identified among ALHIV in Latin America and only one intervention was implemented in the Caribbean [20]. Evidence on culturally-tailored interventions targeted at ALHIV in Latin America is urgently needed

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion