Objective-The purpose of this work was to conduct an in-depth analysis to understand patients' experiences using a real-time medication monitoring pill bottle linked to an HIV self-management app. Methods-A descriptive qualitative study design was used. In-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide at the 3-month follow-up visit during a trial of the app for improving medication adherence which began in January 2018. Eligibility criteria were HIVpositive, over the age of 18, ownership of a smartphone, able to speak and understand English and self-report less than 80% adherence to medications in the past 30 days or a viral load of over 20 copies/mL (detectable). All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Using thematic analysis we explored emerging themes with similar patterns across interviews and organized the themes according to the constructs of the Fit between Individuals, Task and Technology (FITT) framework. Results-Thirty-eight persons living with HIV, who were randomized to the intervention arm of the study trial, participated in the interviews. 79.0% of participants reported their race as African American/Black, 63.2% had completed some high school or less, and 79.0% reported an annual median income of less than $20,000. Data was collected until saturation was reached. A total of nine major themes organized by the FITT framework were identified. Three themes related to the fit between individuals and task were: motivation for strict medication adherence, self-efficacy for overall health management, and engagement with medication reminders. Four themes related to the fit between individual and technology were: ease of use, HIV-related stigma and disclosure of HIV status, customized alert of medication time windows based on individual routine setup , and preference for device design. Two themes related to the fit between task and technology were: system functionality of data transfer from the electronic pill bottle to the app and self-awareness of system syncing signals.

Background Mobile health (mHealth) apps have the potential to be effective tools for encouraging patients with chronic diseases to self-manage their health. The success of mHealth apps is related to technology acceptance and its subsequent use by intended consumers. Therefore, it is essential to gain insights from consumers’ perspectives about their use of mHealth apps in daily life. Objective The purpose of this work was to understand consumers’ perspectives on use of a self-management app following completion of a clinical trial that tested the efficacy of the app for improving health outcomes. Methods We conducted five focus groups with paricipants of a clinical trial (NCT03182738) who were randomized to use the video information provider (VIP) for HIV-associated nonAIDS (HANA) conditions app (VIP-HANA) or an attention control app. Thematic analysis was conducted, and the themes were organized according to the two key constructs of the technology acceptance model framework: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Results Thirty-nine people living with HIV (20 from the intervention group and 19 from the control group) participated in the focus group sessions. Of the eight themes identified from focus group data, the five themes related to perceived usefulness were: (1) self-monitoring HIV-related symptoms of HANA conditions, (2) enhanced relationship with clinical providers, (3) improvement in physical and emotional health, (4) long-term impact of self-care strategies on improvement in symptoms of HANA conditions, and (5) inspired lifestyle changes to manage symptoms. The three themes related to perceived ease of use were: (1) easy to navigate, (2) avatar personalization, and (3) privacy/confidentiality maintained even when changing the location of app use. Conclusions Perceived ease of use was similar in both study groups but perceived usefulness differed between study groups. Participants in both study groups found the VIP-HANA app to be useful in monitoring their symptoms and enhancing communication with their clinical care providers. However, only intervention group participants perceived the app to be useful in improving overall health and long-term symptom management. Findings from this study highlight factors that are essential to ensure the usefulness of self-management apps and facilitate sustained use of mHealth apps for people living with chronic illnesses.

Background Poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is one of the primary barriers to viral load suppression. mHealth technology can help overcome challenges with ART adherence. This paper outlines the protocol for the WiseApp randomized control trial. The WiseApp contains real-time medication monitoring linking an electronic pill bottle and fitness tracker to the app, helping persons living with HIV (PLWH) self-manage their medication adherence and improve their overall quality of life. The primary objective of the trial is to test the effect of the WiseApp's medication adherence features on antiretroviral adherence in underserved PLWH in New York City. Methods This ongoing study is a two-arm randomized control trial. Participants are randomized 1:1 to the WiseApp intervention arm or the control arm at baseline and followed for 6 months. Eligibility criteria include: 18 years of age, have a diagnosis of HIV, speak and understand English or Spanish, live in the United States, own a smartphone, currently taking ART medications, and report the past 30 days adherence of 80% or less as measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), or have a viral load of over 400 copies/mL. The sample size for the trial is 200 people. All study participants receive the WiseApp, a CleverCap electronic pill bottle, and a fitness tracker. The intervention group also receives videos and health surveys centered on medication adherence and managing living with HIV as well as medication reminders. In contrast, the control group receives walk step reminders, videos, and surveys focused on overall wellness. Discussion The WiseApp Trial has the potential to improve HIV self-management applications, being one of the few randomized controlled trials of a mHealth medication adherence and HIV self-management application in the United States. The trial could also bring new opportunities for advancement in reaching economically disenfranchised and underserved populations in the United States. The real-time monitoring of the WiseApp has the potential to help providers initiate interventions to help patients resume treatment before drug resistance begins. Trial registration This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03205982) on July 2, 2017.

Importance Progression of HIV disease, the transmission of the disease, and premature deaths among persons living with HIV (PLWH) have been attributed foremost to poor adherence to HIV medications. mHealth tools can be used to improve antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence in PLWH and have the potential to improve therapeutic success. Objective To determine the efficacy of WiseApp, a user-centered design mHealth intervention to improve ART adherence and viral suppression in PLWH. Design, Setting, and Participants A randomized (1:1) controlled efficacy trial of the WiseApp intervention arm (n = 99) versus an attention control intervention arm (n = 101) among persons living with HIV who reported poor adherence to their treatment regimen and living in New York City. Interventions The WiseApp intervention includes the following components: testimonials of lived experiences, push-notification reminders, medication trackers, health surveys, chat rooms, and a “To-Do” list outlining tasks for the day. Both study arms also received the CleverCap pill bottle, with only the intervention group linking the pill bottle to WiseApp. Results We found a significant improvement in ART adherence in the intervention arm compared to the attention control arm from day 1 (69.7% vs 48.3%, OR = 2.5, 95% CI 1.4–3.5, P = .002) to day 59 (51.2% vs 37.2%, OR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.0–1.6, P = .05) of the study period. From day 60 to 120, the intervention arm had higher adherence rates, but the difference was not significant. In the secondary analyses, no difference in change from baseline to 3 or 6 months between the 2 arms was observed for all secondary outcomes. Conclusions The WiseApp intervention initially improved ART adherence but did not have a sustained effect on outcomes.

No abstract