In this section, we give examples of the accomplishments that the current HIV Center Development Core, CCNMTL, and HIV Center investigators have had using New Media tools. We also point out the extraordinary potential ahead of us for the use of these tools. Most importantly, in Specific Aim 4, we highlight the need to apply theories from a variety of fields (e.g., ethnography, interaction design, human computer interaction, and usability-based studies [24]) to understand and assess the effect that the application of New Media tools and strategies may have in the HIV field; This will be the basis for the development of new theoretical and conceptual frameworks that will significantly contribute to the advancement of the field. By achieving its Specific Aims, the New Media Core will not only support and optimize the work of HIV Center investigators in the Center's thematic emphasis on implementation and translational science but will also contribute to set new standards for the field and showcase new possibilities for HIV researchers worldwide. The latter impact will be achieved through a variety of dissemination strategies including scientific conference presentations, publications, and online media postings (e.g., demonstration videos - such as those used by CCNMTL - uploaded to YouTube; see Section 2.2) on the use of New Media in HIV research. This will address both the worldwide critical challenge of dwindling resources and the need to make HIV prevention and care tools readily available for dissemination and scalability. 2.1 The use of New Media will significantly improve data collection. New Media tools are particularly suited for data collection in HIV research as they have been shown, for example, to increase confidentiality, be less susceptible to social desirability and interviewer biases, allow for instantaneous collection of data from various locations, and use internal logic checks to decrease data inconsistencies [25]. HIV Center researchers have progressively incorporated a number of New Media data collection tools in their studies. For example, Carballo-Dieguez used web-based Computer Assisted Self-Interviews (CASI) to collect responses to questionnaires being entered in several different US cities instantly on a central server located in New York [26]. Reuben Robbins, Ph.D., a recent graduate from the HIV Center postdoctoral fellowship program and current Assistant Professor in the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, is working with colleagues to develop a smart-phone application to detect HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders - measurable through reaction time, memory, processing speed, and attention - to be used in a study in South Africa [27]. Heino Meyer-Bahlburg, Dr.rer. nat., uses videoconferencing enhanced with special security measures to conduct long-distance evaluation through live interviews of patients with various mental health conditions, their family members, and clinicians. Carballo-Dieguez used an interactive voice response (IVR) system to monitor daily adherence and sexual practices in microbidde trials, track incentive accumulation, generate reminder messages for participants to call the system, and alert researchers in the case of missed daily calls [28]. See Appendix G.1 for a more detailed listing of New Media tools used by HIV Center investigators. The New Media field is ever evolving, with exciting new possibilities for recruitment and data collection constantly appearing on the market. Examples of such tools include the following: Global Positioning System (GPS)-based social networks. These applications (apps) use GPS to indicate nearby populations of interest to the user. One such mobile app, Grindr, which is popular among men who have sex with men (MSM), who use it to identify and interact with other MSM within a small radius of their location, was recently used by researchers in Los Angeles to locate MSM participants for a rectal microbidde study. Tools like this one can be used by researchers to determine the comparative density of populations in different zip codes and decide on recruitment strategies. Time stamped videos recorded and sent using smart phones. This technology can be used as the New Media equivalent of directly observed therapy to enhance adherence data collection by recording participants ingesting pre-exposure prophylaxis medication [29]. Ingestible event markers. Ingestible microchips added to pills transmit a brief distinctive electronic signal to an external data capture system when exposed to the gastric secretions to confirm that the pill was ingested [30] and can be used to collect data on antiretroviral adherence [31]. See Appendix G.2 for more examples of New Media data collection tools currently accessible. Many more data collection tools will become available in the course ofthe next P30 funding period. The New Media Core will help Center researchers increase the scope and quality of data they collect by encouraging the inclusion of New Media tools in their research studies. The New Media Core will work closely with the Statistics, Epidemiology and Data Management (SED) Core to identify creative data management strategies and statistical analysis approaches for the enormous amounts of information likely to be generated through the use of New Media tools as well as to address issues of data security.
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