Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Aging
Date Submitted: Jul 31, 2018
Open Peer Review Period: Aug 3, 2018 - Sep 28, 2018
Date Accepted: Nov 16, 2018
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
“I ain’t ready to dieâ€: Mobile Technology For Healthy Aging Among Older HIV-Positive Black Men Who Have Sex with Men
ABSTRACT
Background:
People living with HIV are living longer in the United States as a result of antiretroviral therapy. Black men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionally affected by HIV and have low rates of engagement in HIV care and treatment. Mobile technology holds promise as an intervention platform; however, little is known regarding its use among older black MSM living with HIV.
Objective:
The goal of this study was to explore mobile technology use and narratives of aging with HIV among older black MSM to inform mobile health intervention development.
Methods:
A total of 12 black MSM living with HIV, aged 50 years or older completed in-person, semistructured interviews exploring the issues of aging, HIV care engagement, and mobile technology use. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using qualitative research methods.
Results:
Men appreciated having survived the AIDS epidemic, but some expressed discomfort and ambivalence toward aging. Men described various levels of engagement in HIV care and treatment; challenges included social isolation and need for support that was not focused on HIV. Almost all described using mobile technology to engage in health care, whereas some referenced important barriers and challenges to technology use.
Conclusions:
Findings highlighted a high level of interest toward a mobile technology–based intervention targeting older black men but also identified barriers and challenges to using mobile technology for health care engagement. Mobile technology is well incorporated into older black MSM’s lives and shows potential as an intervention platform for addressing aging issues to enhance engagement in HIV care and treatment. Clinical Trial: N/A
Citation
Per the author's request the PDF is not available.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.