J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2025 Aug 19. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000003747. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: We assessed an adaptation of a mobile HIV prevention smartphone app, HealthMindr-PrEP, to assess its effectiveness to increase pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (GBMSM).
SETTING: This study was conducted online among GBMSM living in Ending the HIV Epidemic priority jurisdictions, primarily in the southern United States.
METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled trial in which participants were randomly assigned to receive the intervention app or an app that only allowed participants to track their study progress. The primary outcome was self-reported PrEP uptake. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare the rate of PrEP uptake across study arms.
RESULTS: Although no results were statistically significant, the rate of PrEP initiation was higher among participants in the intervention arm compared to the control arm, particularly among participants with PrEP indications at baseline. Among those with PrEP indications at baseline, participants in the intervention arm had a 64% higher rate of PrEP initiation compared to the control arm (hazard ratio = 1.64, 95% CI: 0.89, 3.03). Among those without PrEP indications, the same hazard ratio was 1.05 (95% CI: 0.67, 1.66).
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that HealthMindr-PrEP increases the rate of PrEP uptake compared to a standard of care control condition; however, we had insufficient statistical power for stratified analyses that demonstrated the strongest effect was among those who had PrEP indications at baseline.
PMID:40828543 | DOI:10.1097/QAI.0000000000003747
