JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

HIV disproportionately affects men who have sex with men (MSM) in China, but the use of HIV prevention services is low due to privacy concerns and nondisclosure of sexual identity. These concerns are addressable through home-based services.

Objective:

This study aimed to assess feasibility and acceptability of Blued+, a combination HIV prevention intervention that integrated combination package of HIV prevention services into the Blued mobile application platform, for Chinese MSM.

Methods:

This study was a single-arm pilot study with a repeated cross-sectional design as a comparison. A cohort of MSM was recruited from Beijing and Chengdu, China. A three-month standard-of-care period with measurement at enrollment and month 0 (baseline) was followed by a 12-month intervention period with measurement at months 3, 6, 9, and 12. Standard of care included the existing Blued app and local health services. During the intervention period, participants received the enhanced version of the Blued app with HIV testing, linkage to care for those testing HIV positive, free condoms and lubricants, in-app screening and provision to PrEP. A series of cross-sectional surveys at months 0, 6, and 12 were administered to MSM residing in Beijing and Chengdu who were not in any HIV prevention study. The primary outcome was the uptake of home HIV testing, condom, and PrEP prescription. The intervention acceptability was measured by the score of the system usability scale.

Results:

This study enrolled 423 participants in the pilot cohort and 1314 participants for cross-section comparison at baseline. Participants in the cohort were young. More than two-thirds obtained a college degree or above. More than a third of them were at a high level of income. Participants reported a high prevalence of condomless sex (63%) and HIV testing (71%) in the last three months. Most participants (96%) had heard of PrEP, and over a quarter had used PrEP. Participants in the comparison had comparable sociodemographic characteristics, but reported a lower proportion of people who had condomless sex (41%) and HIV testing (58%) in the last three months, and lower PrEP awareness (85%) and PrEP use (21%).

Conclusions:

This pilot study will provide preliminary evidence for an efficacy trial of HIV prevention intervention that is integrated in an existing geosocial networking app among Chinese MSM by evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of this intervention. Clinical Trial: This is not a clinical trial.