This project will harness recent technological developments in smart tablets and other mobile devices: their proliferation and affordability; their increased use in pedagogy and healthcare; and the numerous benefits they afford, such as personalization, connectedness, mobility, and improved learning outcomes. These developments will be leveraged to improve the uptake, appropriate implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based behavioral interventions (EBIs) that help prevent the spread of HIV. For this Phase II project, we will complete the development and field testing of the Prevention Tablet (PTab), an application for use on the web as well as via native apps on iOS and Android tablets. PTab will help health educators overcome identified barriers to the uptake and implementation of EBIs. For the Phase II scope of work, we will focus on PTab's hosting HIV prevention EBIs that are aimed at populations of special interest to NIH's National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD). These population groups include ?racial and ethnic minorities (African Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians and other U.S. Pacific Islanders), socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, and medically underserved individuals residing in rural and urban areas? (NIMHD website). Post Phase II, as PTab is commercialized, other EBIs can and will be hosted on PTab, whether minority-focused or not, HIV prevention-focused or not. In short, PTab will be a revolutionary platform for increasing the uptake, implementation, and evaluation of EBIs. PTab is the first mobile application/platform designed especially for EBI educators, facilitators, and implementers working in real-world settings. These users can use PTab anytime, anywhere to access all program content as well as core features tailored for their current tasks, whether when preparing for implementation, while running a session, or after completing a session. PTab has tools like digital note-taking, reminders to prepare materials, on-screen timers for session outlines to ensure coverage of core elements, and digital forms to streamline process and outcome evaluation. With an Internet connection, PTab users have access to supplementary content and value-added features through links to EBI Connect, an online community of EBI practitioners and educators managed by Sociometrics; as well as SurveyGizmo, a survey creation, data collection, analysis and reporting tool that will be pre-populated with the evaluation questionnaires for PTab's EBIs. In Phase I, we demonstrated the feasibility and utility of PTab by conducting a needs assessment as well as building and usability testing dynamic working prototypes of the PTab web app and the PTab iOS native app. The present Phase II proposal will: complete the development of the PTab web app as well as the PTab native apps for both iOS and Android tablets; make 15 minority-focused HIV prevention EBIs available for use on computers, tablets, or smartphones; and conduct a field study to assess PTab's impact on EBI uptake and implementation fidelity.
Health disparities in HIV incidence and prevalence remain significant in the U.S., with minority and medically underserved populations being disproportionately affected. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of select behavioral interventions in reducing HIV-related risk behaviors among diverse groups, including those suffering from health disparities. Nevertheless, adoption and appropriate implementation of these EBIs (evidence-based behavioral interventions/programs) remain challenging to frontline HIV prevention providers. Finding new solutions that take into account current barriers to adoption as well as program facilitators' practical difficulties with implementation is imperative to ensuring the successful replication of EBIs in real-world settings (see Research Strategy/Background and Significance). The proposed PTab product will harness HIV prevention EBI content compiled at Sociometrics with NIH funding over the last two decades, an online community of practice website successfully developed around these EBIs, a user-focused product development methodology, and the latest in computer and mobile tablet hardware and software technology, to facilitate uptake (adoption and sustained, appropriate use) of HIV prevention EBIs aimed at minority and medically underserved populations. If successful, PTab will, in this manner, contribute to reducing HIV-related health disparities.
