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Epic Allies HIV ART Adherence Intervention

NCT02782130 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 146

Last updated 2018-01-18

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This is a two-arm, randomized-controlled trial (RCT) that will test the acceptability, impact, and long-term sustainability of the Epic Allies intervention application (app), a theory-based mobile app that utilizes game mechanics and social networking features to improve engagement in care, antiretroviral therapy (ART) uptake, ART adherence, and viral suppression among HIV-positive young men who have sex with men (YMSM) and trans women who have sex with men. Subjects will be randomized to either the intervention branch of the Epic Allies app or the control branch of the app.

Conditions

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Epic Allies App Intervention

The Epic Allies app addresses barriers to ART adherence through: 1. Users track health progress through an interactive dashboard, logging daily adherence for those on ART and, optionally, exercise, smoking, alcohol and drug use, and mood. Those not on ART will rate how close they are to getting on it. 2. Users pick medication reminder timing. The app sends weekly messages to users based on adherence progress and other tracked behaviors. 3. A key part of the app is contact between users to foster a setting that supports norms for medication-taking, reducing stigma related to HIV status and ART use. Users send and receive encouragement to spur behavior change, recognize positive behaviors, and inspire others to reach an adherence goal. 4. Users progress through Epic Allies' virtual world, creating allies with other users. 5. The Daily Dose newspaper has content to improve HIV/ART knowledge, promote disease management and increase drive and self-efficacy.

BEHAVIORAL

Epic Allies - Control Branch

Subjects will receive weekly phone-based notifications to encourage the subjects to view educational information presented in the app.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

    collaborator NIH

  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

    collaborator NIH

  • University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Lisa Hightow-Weidman, MD · University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
16 Years
Max Age
24 Years
Sex
MALE
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2015-06-30
Primary Completion
2017-09-30
Completion
2017-12-14

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT02782130 on ClinicalTrials.gov