Digital strategies to promote crowdsourcing open calls for co-creating HIV interventions: a youth community-based participatory approach

IntroductionThe HIV epidemic disproportionately affects adolescents and young adults (AYA), yet their engagement in HIV programming remains limited. Digital strategies, such as social media campaigns, engage a diverse range of AYA to co-create HIV interventions, but their effectiveness is less known...

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Main Authors: Olaoluwaposi Ogunlana, Peter Kalulu, Ucheoma Nwaozuru, Olufunto A. Olusanya, Oluwayemisi T. Olaoluwa, Temitope Ojo, Titilola Gbaja-Biamila, Chiyere Arinze, Lateef Akeem, Lauren Fidelak, Chisom Obi-Jeff, Oliver C. Ezechi, Joseph D. Tucker, Juliet Iwelunmor
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Digital Health
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1608366/full
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author Olaoluwaposi Ogunlana
Peter Kalulu
Ucheoma Nwaozuru
Olufunto A. Olusanya
Oluwayemisi T. Olaoluwa
Temitope Ojo
Titilola Gbaja-Biamila
Chiyere Arinze
Lateef Akeem
Lauren Fidelak
Chisom Obi-Jeff
Oliver C. Ezechi
Joseph D. Tucker
Joseph D. Tucker
Juliet Iwelunmor
author_facet Olaoluwaposi Ogunlana
Peter Kalulu
Ucheoma Nwaozuru
Olufunto A. Olusanya
Oluwayemisi T. Olaoluwa
Temitope Ojo
Titilola Gbaja-Biamila
Chiyere Arinze
Lateef Akeem
Lauren Fidelak
Chisom Obi-Jeff
Oliver C. Ezechi
Joseph D. Tucker
Joseph D. Tucker
Juliet Iwelunmor
author_sort Olaoluwaposi Ogunlana
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThe HIV epidemic disproportionately affects adolescents and young adults (AYA), yet their engagement in HIV programming remains limited. Digital strategies, such as social media campaigns, engage a diverse range of AYA to co-create HIV interventions, but their effectiveness is less known. This study examines the digital strategies employed to engage AYA (ages 14–24) in the participatory design of HIV research and interventions in Nigeria.MethodsWe employed youth participatory action research (PAR), specifically using a crowdsourcing open call strategy to generate innovative ideas from AYA on how community-based organizations can sustain youth-friendly HIV services for at-risk youth. Crowdsourcing involves a group of people solving a problem and then sharing selected solutions with the public. The open call was held between February and March 2024 as part of the Sustaining Innovative Tools to Expand Youth-Friendly HIV Self-Testing (S-ITEST) study. The open call was promoted on social media platforms and through peer youth ambassadors. Submissions were received via various channels, including Google Forms, WhatsApp, and in-person submissions. Social media engagement metrics and open call submission data were collected and analyzed descriptively using R version 4.4.2.Results and discussionUsing social media metrics, the first Instagram post reached 310 people (75% of followers) and generated 43 engagements. The second post reached 272 people (79% of followers) with 29 interactions. The first and second Facebook posts reached 153 and 58 people, respectively, with each post receiving five interactions. We received 123 submissions, with 104 submitted online. Youth in all six geopolitical zones submitted ideas (40 males and 64 females). The mean age of participants was 21.9 (SD =5.35), and most (81%) learned about the open call through digital channels, with WhatsApp (n = 20) being the most common channel. Older youth were more likely to hear about the open call digitally (Mean = 22.5; SD = 5.12) compared to younger participants (Mean = 19.8; SD = 5.87). Building digital communities and opportunities could sustain youth involvement in HIV research. Our findings suggest that digital strategies can complement and optimize in-person engagement to effectively leverage AYA's creativity in co-creating HIV interventions in low-resource settings.
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spelling doaj-art-aecf8503f6c546ceba2a3710b2fdf0d02025-08-20T03:12:27ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Digital Health2673-253X2025-07-01710.3389/fdgth.2025.16083661608366Digital strategies to promote crowdsourcing open calls for co-creating HIV interventions: a youth community-based participatory approachOlaoluwaposi Ogunlana0Peter Kalulu1Ucheoma Nwaozuru2Olufunto A. Olusanya3Oluwayemisi T. Olaoluwa4Temitope Ojo5Titilola Gbaja-Biamila6Chiyere Arinze7Lateef Akeem8Lauren Fidelak9Chisom Obi-Jeff10Oliver C. Ezechi11Joseph D. Tucker12Joseph D. Tucker13Juliet Iwelunmor14College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, NigeriaDivision of Infectious Diseases, John T. Milliken Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United StatesDepartment of Implementation Science, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem. NC, United StatesDivision of Infectious Diseases, John T. Milliken Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, NigeriaDivision of Infectious Diseases, John T. Milliken Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United StatesClinical Sciences Department, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Lagos, NigeriaDivision of Infectious Diseases, John T. Milliken Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United StatesClinical Sciences Department, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Lagos, NigeriaDepartment of Medicine, Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United StatesBrooks Insights, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, NigeriaClinical Sciences Department, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Lagos, NigeriaDepartment of Medicine, Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United StatesDepartment of Clinical Research, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United KingdomDivision of Infectious Diseases, John T. Milliken Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United StatesIntroductionThe HIV epidemic disproportionately affects adolescents and young adults (AYA), yet their engagement in HIV programming remains limited. Digital strategies, such as social media campaigns, engage a diverse range of AYA to co-create HIV interventions, but their effectiveness is less known. This study examines the digital strategies employed to engage AYA (ages 14–24) in the participatory design of HIV research and interventions in Nigeria.MethodsWe employed youth participatory action research (PAR), specifically using a crowdsourcing open call strategy to generate innovative ideas from AYA on how community-based organizations can sustain youth-friendly HIV services for at-risk youth. Crowdsourcing involves a group of people solving a problem and then sharing selected solutions with the public. The open call was held between February and March 2024 as part of the Sustaining Innovative Tools to Expand Youth-Friendly HIV Self-Testing (S-ITEST) study. The open call was promoted on social media platforms and through peer youth ambassadors. Submissions were received via various channels, including Google Forms, WhatsApp, and in-person submissions. Social media engagement metrics and open call submission data were collected and analyzed descriptively using R version 4.4.2.Results and discussionUsing social media metrics, the first Instagram post reached 310 people (75% of followers) and generated 43 engagements. The second post reached 272 people (79% of followers) with 29 interactions. The first and second Facebook posts reached 153 and 58 people, respectively, with each post receiving five interactions. We received 123 submissions, with 104 submitted online. Youth in all six geopolitical zones submitted ideas (40 males and 64 females). The mean age of participants was 21.9 (SD =5.35), and most (81%) learned about the open call through digital channels, with WhatsApp (n = 20) being the most common channel. Older youth were more likely to hear about the open call digitally (Mean = 22.5; SD = 5.12) compared to younger participants (Mean = 19.8; SD = 5.87). Building digital communities and opportunities could sustain youth involvement in HIV research. Our findings suggest that digital strategies can complement and optimize in-person engagement to effectively leverage AYA's creativity in co-creating HIV interventions in low-resource settings.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1608366/fullyouth participatory action researchcrowdsourcingdigital engagementimplementation strategiesadolescents and young adult (AYA)HIV interventions
spellingShingle Olaoluwaposi Ogunlana
Peter Kalulu
Ucheoma Nwaozuru
Olufunto A. Olusanya
Oluwayemisi T. Olaoluwa
Temitope Ojo
Titilola Gbaja-Biamila
Chiyere Arinze
Lateef Akeem
Lauren Fidelak
Chisom Obi-Jeff
Oliver C. Ezechi
Joseph D. Tucker
Joseph D. Tucker
Juliet Iwelunmor
Digital strategies to promote crowdsourcing open calls for co-creating HIV interventions: a youth community-based participatory approach
Frontiers in Digital Health
youth participatory action research
crowdsourcing
digital engagement
implementation strategies
adolescents and young adult (AYA)
HIV interventions
title Digital strategies to promote crowdsourcing open calls for co-creating HIV interventions: a youth community-based participatory approach
title_full Digital strategies to promote crowdsourcing open calls for co-creating HIV interventions: a youth community-based participatory approach
title_fullStr Digital strategies to promote crowdsourcing open calls for co-creating HIV interventions: a youth community-based participatory approach
title_full_unstemmed Digital strategies to promote crowdsourcing open calls for co-creating HIV interventions: a youth community-based participatory approach
title_short Digital strategies to promote crowdsourcing open calls for co-creating HIV interventions: a youth community-based participatory approach
title_sort digital strategies to promote crowdsourcing open calls for co creating hiv interventions a youth community based participatory approach
topic youth participatory action research
crowdsourcing
digital engagement
implementation strategies
adolescents and young adult (AYA)
HIV interventions
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1608366/full
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