RiskRadar: development and pilot results of a technical intervention targeting combination prevention regarding HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis
Abstract Background The HIV pandemic impacts the lives of millions and despite the global coordinated response, innovative actions are still needed to end it. A major challenge is the added burden of coinfections such as viral hepatitis, tuberculosis and various sexually transmitted infections in te...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2021-09-01
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| Series: | BMC Infectious Diseases |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-06501-0 |
| _version_ | 1819082320537190400 |
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| author | Christine Kakalou Eleftheria Polychronidou Vicky Drosou Vlasios K. Dimitriadis Thomas Dermaris Rafael Kordonias Aris Papaprodromou Triantafillos Tsirelis Christos Maramis Konstantinos Votis Dimitrios Tzovaras Domenico Savarino Manuel Maffeo Nedim Jasic Tatjana Nemeth-Blažić Zoran Dominković Dubravko Pogledić Iva Jovovic Agne Simkunaite-Zazecke Loreta Stoniene Antonella Sammut Lella Cosmaro Pantelis Natsiavas |
| author_facet | Christine Kakalou Eleftheria Polychronidou Vicky Drosou Vlasios K. Dimitriadis Thomas Dermaris Rafael Kordonias Aris Papaprodromou Triantafillos Tsirelis Christos Maramis Konstantinos Votis Dimitrios Tzovaras Domenico Savarino Manuel Maffeo Nedim Jasic Tatjana Nemeth-Blažić Zoran Dominković Dubravko Pogledić Iva Jovovic Agne Simkunaite-Zazecke Loreta Stoniene Antonella Sammut Lella Cosmaro Pantelis Natsiavas |
| author_sort | Christine Kakalou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The HIV pandemic impacts the lives of millions and despite the global coordinated response, innovative actions are still needed to end it. A major challenge is the added burden of coinfections such as viral hepatitis, tuberculosis and various sexually transmitted infections in terms of prevention, treatment and increased morbidity in individuals with HIV infection. A need for combination prevention strategies, tailored to high-risk key populations arises and technology-based interventions can be a valuable asset. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the delivery of existing services and added stress to existing public health and clinical structures but also highlighted the potential of exploiting technical solutions for interventions regarding infectious diseases. In this paper we report the design process, results and evaluation findings from the pilots of ‘RiskRadar’—a web and mobile application aiming to support combination prevention, testing and linkage to care for HIV, viral hepatitis, various sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis. Methods RiskRadar was developed for the INTEGRATE Joint Action’s aim to improve, adapt and pilot innovative digital tools for combination prevention. RiskRadar was designed iteratively using informed end-user-oriented approaches. Emphasis was placed on the Risk Calculator that enables users to assess their risk of exposure to one or more of the four disease areas, make informed decisions to seek testing or care and adjust their behaviours ultimately aiming to harm/risk reduction. RiskRadar has been piloted in three countries, namely Croatia, Italy and Lithuania. Results RiskRadar has been used 1347 times across all platforms so far. More than 90% of users have found RiskRadar useful and would use it again, especially the Risk Calculator component. Almost 49.25% are men and 29.85% are in the age group of 25–34. The application has scored 5.2/7 in the User Experience Questionnaire, where it is mainly described as “supportive” and “easy-to-use”. The qualitative evaluation of RiskRadar also yielded positive feedback. Conclusions Pilot results demonstrate above average satisfaction with RiskRadar and high user-reported usability scores, supporting the idea that technical interventions could significantly support combination prevention actions on Sexually Transmitted Infections. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T20:14:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b0df7cd93f034407928432a0ae77deb4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2334 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T20:14:48Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Infectious Diseases |
| spelling | doaj.art-b0df7cd93f034407928432a0ae77deb42022-12-21T18:51:39ZengBMCBMC Infectious Diseases1471-23342021-09-0121S211210.1186/s12879-021-06501-0RiskRadar: development and pilot results of a technical intervention targeting combination prevention regarding HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosisChristine Kakalou0Eleftheria Polychronidou1Vicky Drosou2Vlasios K. Dimitriadis3Thomas Dermaris4Rafael Kordonias5Aris Papaprodromou6Triantafillos Tsirelis7Christos Maramis8Konstantinos Votis9Dimitrios Tzovaras10Domenico Savarino11Manuel Maffeo12Nedim Jasic13Tatjana Nemeth-Blažić14Zoran Dominković15Dubravko Pogledić16Iva Jovovic17Agne Simkunaite-Zazecke18Loreta Stoniene19Antonella Sammut20Lella Cosmaro21Pantelis Natsiavas22Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology HellasInformation Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology HellasInformation Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology HellasInstitute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology HellasInstitute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology HellasInformation Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology HellasInformation Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology HellasInformation Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology HellasInstitute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology HellasInformation Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology HellasInformation Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology HellasFondazione LILA Milano - Italian League for Fighting AIDSArcigay - Associazione LGBTI ItalianaCroce Rossa ItalianaCIPH Croatian Institute of Public HealthIskorakIskorakLife Quality Improvement Organisation “Flight”ULAC/CCDA Centre for Communicable Diseases and AIDSRPLC Republican Center for Addictive DisordersPublic Mental Health Services. Ministry for HealthFondazione LILA Milano - Italian League for Fighting AIDSInstitute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology HellasAbstract Background The HIV pandemic impacts the lives of millions and despite the global coordinated response, innovative actions are still needed to end it. A major challenge is the added burden of coinfections such as viral hepatitis, tuberculosis and various sexually transmitted infections in terms of prevention, treatment and increased morbidity in individuals with HIV infection. A need for combination prevention strategies, tailored to high-risk key populations arises and technology-based interventions can be a valuable asset. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the delivery of existing services and added stress to existing public health and clinical structures but also highlighted the potential of exploiting technical solutions for interventions regarding infectious diseases. In this paper we report the design process, results and evaluation findings from the pilots of ‘RiskRadar’—a web and mobile application aiming to support combination prevention, testing and linkage to care for HIV, viral hepatitis, various sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis. Methods RiskRadar was developed for the INTEGRATE Joint Action’s aim to improve, adapt and pilot innovative digital tools for combination prevention. RiskRadar was designed iteratively using informed end-user-oriented approaches. Emphasis was placed on the Risk Calculator that enables users to assess their risk of exposure to one or more of the four disease areas, make informed decisions to seek testing or care and adjust their behaviours ultimately aiming to harm/risk reduction. RiskRadar has been piloted in three countries, namely Croatia, Italy and Lithuania. Results RiskRadar has been used 1347 times across all platforms so far. More than 90% of users have found RiskRadar useful and would use it again, especially the Risk Calculator component. Almost 49.25% are men and 29.85% are in the age group of 25–34. The application has scored 5.2/7 in the User Experience Questionnaire, where it is mainly described as “supportive” and “easy-to-use”. The qualitative evaluation of RiskRadar also yielded positive feedback. Conclusions Pilot results demonstrate above average satisfaction with RiskRadar and high user-reported usability scores, supporting the idea that technical interventions could significantly support combination prevention actions on Sexually Transmitted Infections.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-06501-0Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIV)Integrated approachCombination preventioneHealthRisk assessment |
| spellingShingle | Christine Kakalou Eleftheria Polychronidou Vicky Drosou Vlasios K. Dimitriadis Thomas Dermaris Rafael Kordonias Aris Papaprodromou Triantafillos Tsirelis Christos Maramis Konstantinos Votis Dimitrios Tzovaras Domenico Savarino Manuel Maffeo Nedim Jasic Tatjana Nemeth-Blažić Zoran Dominković Dubravko Pogledić Iva Jovovic Agne Simkunaite-Zazecke Loreta Stoniene Antonella Sammut Lella Cosmaro Pantelis Natsiavas RiskRadar: development and pilot results of a technical intervention targeting combination prevention regarding HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis BMC Infectious Diseases Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIV) Integrated approach Combination prevention eHealth Risk assessment |
| title | RiskRadar: development and pilot results of a technical intervention targeting combination prevention regarding HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis |
| title_full | RiskRadar: development and pilot results of a technical intervention targeting combination prevention regarding HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis |
| title_fullStr | RiskRadar: development and pilot results of a technical intervention targeting combination prevention regarding HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis |
| title_full_unstemmed | RiskRadar: development and pilot results of a technical intervention targeting combination prevention regarding HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis |
| title_short | RiskRadar: development and pilot results of a technical intervention targeting combination prevention regarding HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis |
| title_sort | riskradar development and pilot results of a technical intervention targeting combination prevention regarding hiv viral hepatitis sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis |
| topic | Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIV) Integrated approach Combination prevention eHealth Risk assessment |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-06501-0 |
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