Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: May 11, 2023
Open Peer Review Period: May 11, 2023 - Jul 6, 2023
Date Accepted: Jul 26, 2023
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
User Feedback to Improve a Web-Based, Mail-Order STI Testing Program: A Qualitative Study of Online Submissions
ABSTRACT
Background:
Incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is increasing in the U.S. Concerns around confidentiality, accessibility, and stigma continue to limit access to clinic-based STI testing, particularly for high-priority populations. IWantTheKit (IWTK) is an online platform that mails free, confidential, self-administered sample collection kits to screen for gonorrhea, chlamydia (genital and extra-genital sites), and vaginal trichomonas.
Objective:
This study aimed to describe users’ experience with IWTK, with the goal of optimizing reach and retention among high-priority populations by responding to user needs.
Methods:
Free-text entries were submitted by IWTK users via a confidential Contact Us page on the IWTK website from May 17, 2021, to January 31, 2022. All entries were de-identified. Two analysts coded these using a pre-defined codebook. Responses were summarized across key themes and ordering characteristics (home state, date).
Results:
Two hundred and fifty-four free-text entries were analyzed. Themes emerged relating to the functionality of the website and personal experiences using IWTK’s services. Users’ submissions included requests related to order status, address changes, replacement of old kits, clinical information (treatment options, report of symptoms), and reported risk behavior.
Conclusions:
Web-based, mail-order STI testing programs can utilize user feedback to optimize implementation and potentially expand reach and promote retention among high-priority populations.
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
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.