Mhealth Or Digital Health For HIV Implementation Science

Using mobile technologies to more rapidly and accurately assess and modify behavior, biological states, and contextual variables has great potential to transform HIV intervention research. The use of mobile technology affords numerous methodological advantages over traditional methods (e.g. improvements in real time measurement and monitoring, implantable biosensors, etc.), however, challenges in mobile health (or mHealth) research exist. Concepts learned in the course will prepare students to apply and create cutting edge mHealth technologies to address HIV/AIDS implementation research. Through case studies, multimedia tutorials, interactive exercises, and live demonstrations of tools, participants will explore delivery mechanisms, such as interactive voice recognition (IVR), SMS (short message service) communication programs, smartphone applications, social media, and health information systems for data collection, analytics and management. Skills obtained in this course will also be relevant to the management and prevention of a variety of other chronic and acute health conditions. The course is highly hands-on and interactive including individual and group projects where students track their own health behaviors using commercially available health apps, develop a research proposal for a new theory-informed mHealth intervention, design a Serious Game with an HIV/STI prevention or care objective, and develop a social media campaign to promote HIV preventive behaviors. Students also learn and apply research study design and grant proposal development skills.