An Avatar-based Mobile Phone Intervention to Promote Health in African American MSM

Summary

The investigators propose to determine the efficacy of "My Personal Health Guide," a theory-based innovative talking relational human Avatar mobile phone application to engage HIV-positive AAMSM in adherence and retention in care. Providing an empathetic talking Avatar source of HIV-related information, motivation, and behavioral skills that is as private and convenient as their own mobile phone might produce a high impact by overcoming barriers to HIV adherence and retention in care such as stigma and health literacy.

Conditions

• Medication Adherence
• Retention in Care

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

My Personal Health Guide

My Personal Health Guide is a theory-based mobile phone app that uses an Avatar as a personal health guide to increase patient knowledge of HIV disease and its complications and rationale for healthy behavior, increase self-efficacy and motivate participants to improve retention in care and medication adherence, and explain and illustrate behavioral skills related to retention in care, and adherence, with a result of improved behavior that leads to personal and population benefits through viral suppression and decreased risk of transmission, respectively. The relational aspect of the Avatar may be a powerful supplement to clinical care. The Avatar can encourage healthy behavior, acknowledge stigma and speak with empathy, audibly teach persons with low literacy, employ credible culturally appropriate phrasing, and invite the user to hear advice and motivational stories of other HIV-positive people and caregivers.

BEHAVIORAL

My Personal Food Guide

My Personal Food Guide is a mobile phone app that contains a talking realistic avatar who teaches about food safety, sugar content in selected foods, and some other food related information. The avatar motivates safe food behavior in order reduce the likelihood of food poisoning and promotes a healthy diet.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Mississippi Medical Center

  collaborator OTHER

• Emory University

  collaborator OTHER

• Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Illinois at Chicago

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Mark Dworkin, MD · University of Illinois at Chicago

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

34 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-03-04

Primary Completion

2024-05-31

Completion

2024-11-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations