August 2017
By Mark Dworkin and James Lee

NIH funded project (1R21NR016420-01)

This research project aims to improve the proportion of HIV-infected persons engaged in care by developing a theory-based Avatar mobile phone intervention that engages young HIV-positive African American men who have sex with men (AAMSM) in three of the five stages of care: (1) retention, (2) HAART adherence, and (3) viral suppression. The intervention will maximize the likelihood of compliance with healthy behavior leading to both patient benefits (decreased morbidity, mortality and resistant virus) and population benefits (decreased HIV transmission). The intervention draws on the Information Motivation Behavioral Skills Model that focuses on feedback between information and motivation that affect one’s behavioral skills, behaviors, and desired health outcomes. The Avatar will encourage interaction with information and functions that promote engagement with the HIV Care Continuum, provide fundamental HIV information, provide motivating statements, facilitate interaction with healthcare, visualize laboratory results, and encourage, explain, and even illustrate relevant behavioral skills.

The Video Documentation