W. Scott Comulada, Dr.P.H.
Associate Professor-in-Residence,
UCLA Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences Co-Director,
CHIPTS Methods Core Project Lead, ATN CARES Analytic Core
Tuesday, February 13, 2pm – 3pm
Center for Community Health, UCLA Wilshire Center
10920 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 350, Room 350-46 (Conference Room)
mHealth solutions have been proposed to address healthcare system inefficiencies in resource-poor settings, especially for home-based HIV testing and counseling (HTC) programs. The transfer of rapid diagnostic testing and health information from the field to the clinic is crucial for the success of home-based HTC programs; mHealth solutions have been pilot-tested. Yet wide-scale mHealth adoption has not occurred. Even as infrastructure barriers decrease, a need to better understand perceived adoption barriers by stakeholders remains. We conducted focus group discussions (FGD) in South Africa in 2016 with 10 field staff from a home-based HTC program, 12 community health workers (CHWs) and 10 persons living with HIV. Key informant (KI) interviews were conducted with five health officials. Perceptions about current home-based HTC practices, future mHealth systems and the use of biometrics for patient identification were discussed and will be presented during the seminar. In addition, I will discuss how qualitative findings are being used to inform the development of future mHealth systems.
The CHIPTS’ Methods Core hosts a monthly seminar series, which are one-hour workshops on research and statistical methods. The seminars are open to HIV researchers, faculty, students, and community. To see previous seminars, check out the Methods Seminar tag or you can find seminar videos on our Youtube Channel! This series is hosted by the Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services (CHIPTS) and made possible by funds from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH058107).