Telehealth and texting intervention to improve HIV care engagement, mental health and substance use outcomes in youth living with HIV: a pilot feasibility and acceptability study protocol

Introduction Youth and young adults living with HIV (YLWH) experience worse clinical outcomes than adults and high rates of behavioural health challenges that impact their engagement in care and adherence to antiretroviral therapy. This study in the San Francisco Bay area aims to evaluate the feasib...

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Main Authors: Torsten B Neilands, Parya Saberi, Angie R Wootton, Dominique A Legnitto, Valerie A Gruber, Carol Dawson-Rose, Mallory O Johnson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2019-07-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/7/e028522.full
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author Torsten B Neilands
Parya Saberi
Angie R Wootton
Dominique A Legnitto
Valerie A Gruber
Carol Dawson-Rose
Mallory O Johnson
author_facet Torsten B Neilands
Parya Saberi
Angie R Wootton
Dominique A Legnitto
Valerie A Gruber
Carol Dawson-Rose
Mallory O Johnson
author_sort Torsten B Neilands
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Youth and young adults living with HIV (YLWH) experience worse clinical outcomes than adults and high rates of behavioural health challenges that impact their engagement in care and adherence to antiretroviral therapy. This study in the San Francisco Bay area aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary clinical outcomes of a 12-session telehealth counselling series provided to 80 YLWH, including education, motivational enhancement and problem-solving around HIV care, mental health, substance use and other challenges. Findings will provide information about benefits and challenges of telehealth counselling for YLWH and will guide the development of new technology-based strategies for care.Methods and analysis The Youth to Telehealth and Text to Improve Engagement in Care study is a pilot randomised, crossover trial examining the feasibility and acceptability of a telehealth counselling intervention consisting of twelve 20–30 min weekly sessions focused on identifying and problem-solving around barriers to HIV care access and adherence and on addressing mental health, substance use and/or other issues. Participants also receive text messages for check-ins, appointment reminders and to improve engagement. Participants complete quantitative online surveys at baseline, 4 and 8 months and qualitative exit interviews. Clinical outcomes, including plasma HIV RNA and CD4+ cell count, are collected from medical records. Study staff will explore outcomes of the intervention using quantitative and qualitative methods.Ethics and dissemination This study and its protocols have been approved by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Institutional Review Board. Study staff will work with the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies’ Community Engagement Core and the Youth Advisory Panel to disseminate results to the community, participants and the academic community.Trial registration NCT03681145.
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spelling doaj-art-ead0237d24ce4db9a7e7e6d12da005ea2025-08-20T01:54:12ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552019-07-019710.1136/bmjopen-2018-028522Telehealth and texting intervention to improve HIV care engagement, mental health and substance use outcomes in youth living with HIV: a pilot feasibility and acceptability study protocolTorsten B Neilands0Parya Saberi1Angie R Wootton2Dominique A Legnitto3Valerie A Gruber4Carol Dawson-Rose5Mallory O Johnson6Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, Division of Prevention Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA1 Department of Medicine, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USASchool of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA1 Department of Medicine, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA2 Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, USADepartment of Community Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA1 Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USAIntroduction Youth and young adults living with HIV (YLWH) experience worse clinical outcomes than adults and high rates of behavioural health challenges that impact their engagement in care and adherence to antiretroviral therapy. This study in the San Francisco Bay area aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary clinical outcomes of a 12-session telehealth counselling series provided to 80 YLWH, including education, motivational enhancement and problem-solving around HIV care, mental health, substance use and other challenges. Findings will provide information about benefits and challenges of telehealth counselling for YLWH and will guide the development of new technology-based strategies for care.Methods and analysis The Youth to Telehealth and Text to Improve Engagement in Care study is a pilot randomised, crossover trial examining the feasibility and acceptability of a telehealth counselling intervention consisting of twelve 20–30 min weekly sessions focused on identifying and problem-solving around barriers to HIV care access and adherence and on addressing mental health, substance use and/or other issues. Participants also receive text messages for check-ins, appointment reminders and to improve engagement. Participants complete quantitative online surveys at baseline, 4 and 8 months and qualitative exit interviews. Clinical outcomes, including plasma HIV RNA and CD4+ cell count, are collected from medical records. Study staff will explore outcomes of the intervention using quantitative and qualitative methods.Ethics and dissemination This study and its protocols have been approved by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Institutional Review Board. Study staff will work with the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies’ Community Engagement Core and the Youth Advisory Panel to disseminate results to the community, participants and the academic community.Trial registration NCT03681145.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/7/e028522.full
spellingShingle Torsten B Neilands
Parya Saberi
Angie R Wootton
Dominique A Legnitto
Valerie A Gruber
Carol Dawson-Rose
Mallory O Johnson
Telehealth and texting intervention to improve HIV care engagement, mental health and substance use outcomes in youth living with HIV: a pilot feasibility and acceptability study protocol
BMJ Open
title Telehealth and texting intervention to improve HIV care engagement, mental health and substance use outcomes in youth living with HIV: a pilot feasibility and acceptability study protocol
title_full Telehealth and texting intervention to improve HIV care engagement, mental health and substance use outcomes in youth living with HIV: a pilot feasibility and acceptability study protocol
title_fullStr Telehealth and texting intervention to improve HIV care engagement, mental health and substance use outcomes in youth living with HIV: a pilot feasibility and acceptability study protocol
title_full_unstemmed Telehealth and texting intervention to improve HIV care engagement, mental health and substance use outcomes in youth living with HIV: a pilot feasibility and acceptability study protocol
title_short Telehealth and texting intervention to improve HIV care engagement, mental health and substance use outcomes in youth living with HIV: a pilot feasibility and acceptability study protocol
title_sort telehealth and texting intervention to improve hiv care engagement mental health and substance use outcomes in youth living with hiv a pilot feasibility and acceptability study protocol
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/7/e028522.full
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