mHealth Application

Youth living with HIV (YLHIV) face barriers to engagement and retention in HIV care, show poor medication adherence, and often fail to achieve and maintain viral suppression. YLHIV in the southern United States have particularly poor care engagement outcomes. South Carolina is one of nine states identified as "key drivers" of the US HIV epidemic, and HIV rates for youth in South Carolina have risen in recent years. Tailored interventions are urgently needed to improve outcomes for this population. One promising approach is to reach YLHIV via mobile Health (mHealth) technology, yet few efforts have sought to tailor mHealth interventions to the needs of YLHIV in the southern US. Thus, the scientific objective of this study is to pilot test a new mHealth intervention, called MindBodyU, designed to increase engagement/retention in care and ART adherence among YLHIV in South Carolina. In this study, investigators will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy of the mHealth intervention with a six-month pilot trial with 40 YLHIV in South Carolina.

The first 12 weeks of pregnancy, known as the first trimester, can be one of the most worrying times for women. (Where this lay summary refers to women, it should be taken to include people who do not identify as women but who have the capacity to become pregnant). Many experience nausea, bleeding, or anxiety about whether the pregnancy is progressing normally. Despite this, most women do not see a midwife or doctor until around 10 weeks into the pregnancy. This leaves a gap where they may have important questions but little professional support. As a result, many turn to mobile phone applications or the internet to find answers - but the quality of information online is mixed, and it can be confusing or even unsafe. This research aims to understand what support women really need in early pregnancy, what concerns they have, and whether a mobile health application (mHealth app) could help fill this gap in current pregnancy care in a safe and personalised way. The study will also ask healthcare professionals and digital health experts what such an application should include, and how it can be made accessible, and easy to understand for all women - including those with different levels of health knowledge and digital skills. To carry out the research, we will use a combination of online surveys and interviews. Women who are currently pregnant or have had a baby in the last two years will be invited to take part, along with healthcare professionals such as midwives and doctors, and experts in digital health. The survey will ask about their experiences in early pregnancy, how they have used digital tools or apps, and whether they felt their questions were answered before their first NHS appointment. The interview stage will allow participants to talk in more depth about what support they wanted and what would have helped them most. All participants will receive information about support services because we realise that discussing unmet information needs or worries in early pregnancy may be upsetting for some women. The views collected will inform the design of a new mobile application to support women during early pregnancy. The application will use artificial intelligence (AI) to personalise information based on each woman's needs and background, and to explain things clearly and simply. The content and design of the application will be reviewed by doctors and digital health specialists to make sure it is safe, accurate, and easy to use. Public and patient involvement is central to this project. A diverse group of women and representatives from grassroots organisations will be invited to shape the questions we ask, review the design of the application, and help us make it inclusive for people from different backgrounds. This research will help us create a practical, trustworthy, and inclusive tool to support women during one of the most vulnerable times in pregnancy when women don't usually see a doctor. If successful, it could be used widely across the NHS to help reduce anxiety, improve understanding, and ensure women get the right support earlier in their pregnancy with the long-term aim of improving outcomes for women, babies, and families across the UK.

Introduction: Oral cancer is a malignant neoplastic disease affecting the lip, oral cavity (mouth) and/or the oropharynx. Despite the intense and diverse public health interventions on oral cancer prevention, the global prevalence rates of oral cancer and its major risk factors are still very high. Hence, oral cancer is an issue of serious global health importance. Aim: To test and compare the effectiveness, usability, uptake, and acceptability of an educational website and a mobile health application prototype on oral cancer in improving oral cancer knowledge among university students. Methods: This study will adopt a randomised control trial design, and it will be conducted among 75 first-year bachelor's degree students from five universities across two continents: University of Rwanda (Rwanda, Africa), Usmanu Danfodiyo University (Nigeria, Africa), University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka, Asia), University of Ibadan (Nigeria), and Saveetha University (India, Aisa). The study participants will be in three groups (Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3). The participants in Group 1 will be the control group (n = 25 participants; 5 participants from each university); that is the group that will not receive an educational intervention. However, those in Group 2 (n = 25 participants; 5 participants from each university) will receive a web-based educational intervention on oral cancer while those in Group 3 (n = 25 participants; 5 participants from each university) will receive an app-based educational intervention on oral cancer. Pretest survey and posttest survey will be done for all participants. The data collected will be statistically analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28 software. Descriptive statistics will be done for all variables while inferential statistics (analysis of variance) will be done to test for associations between variables of interest. Conclusion: The findings of this study will determine the effectiveness, usability, uptake, and acceptability of the tested digital intervention tools.