JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Cis-gender Black women in the Southern United States are at a heightened risk for HIV and adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Mobile health interventions that target HIV risk, whilst being adapted towards the needs and lived experiences of Black women, are remarkably limited.

Objective:

The study aims to refine SavvyHER –a mobile app for HIV prevention– with Black women residing in high HIV incident areas of Georgia and evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and usability of SavvyHER. This paper describes the procedures implemented to conduct this research.

Methods:

Community-based participatory research tenets guide this multi-phase study to finalize development of what we hypothesize will be an effective, sustainable, and culturally relevant HIV prevention and optimal sexual health and reproductive wellness app for Black women. This multi-phased mixed-methods study consists of three phases. The first phase entails focus groups with Black women to understand their preferences for the functionality and design of a beta-prototype version of SavvyHER. An app usability pre-test (N = 10) will be used to refine and optimize the SavvyHER app in the second phase. The final phase will entail a pilot randomized control trial (N = 60) to evaluate app feasibility and usability in preparation for a larger trial.

Results:

Findings from preliminary focus groups revealed educational content, app aesthetics, privacy considerations and marketing preferred by Black women; thus, informing the first functional SavvyHER prototype. As we adapt and test the feasibility of SavvyHER, we hypothesize that the app will be an effective, sustainable, and culturally relevant HIV prevention and sexual health and reproductive wellness tool for Black women

Conclusions:

The findings from this research substantiates the importance of developing health interventions curated for and by Black women to address critical HIV disparities. The knowledge gained from this research can reduce HIV disparities among Black women through a targeted intervention that centers their health needs and priorities.