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Text Messaging and Disaster Preparedness Aids Engagement, Re-Engagement, Retention, and Communication Among Puerto Rican Participants in a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Self-Testing Study After Hurricanes Irma and Maria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2020

William Brown III Open the ORCID record for William Brown III [Opens in a new window] ,
Javier Lopez Rios ,
Alan Sheinfil ,
Timothy Frasca ,
Catherine Cruz Torres ,
Raynier Crespo ,
Curtis Dolezal ,
Rebecca Giguere ,
Cody Lentz  and
Iván C. Balán
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William Brown III*
Affiliation:
Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA Bakar Computational Health Science Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Division of Gender, Sexuality and Health, NY State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY
Javier Lopez Rios
Affiliation:
HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Division of Gender, Sexuality and Health, NY State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY Department of Community Health and Social Sciences, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, New York, NY
Alan Sheinfil
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Timothy Frasca
Affiliation:
HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Division of Gender, Sexuality and Health, NY State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY
Catherine Cruz Torres
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Raynier Crespo
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Curtis Dolezal
Affiliation:
HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Division of Gender, Sexuality and Health, NY State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY
Rebecca Giguere
Affiliation:
HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Division of Gender, Sexuality and Health, NY State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY
Cody Lentz
Affiliation:
HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Division of Gender, Sexuality and Health, NY State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY
Iván C. Balán
Affiliation:
HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Division of Gender, Sexuality and Health, NY State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY
Christine Tagliaferri Rael
Affiliation:
HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Division of Gender, Sexuality and Health, NY State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY
Irma Febo
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Alex Carballo-Diéguez
Affiliation:
HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Division of Gender, Sexuality and Health, NY State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to William Brown III, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, UCSF Box 0886, 550 16th Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94143 (e-mail: william.brown@ucsf.edu).
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Abstract

Objective:

Hurricanes can interrupt communication, exacerbate attrition, and disrupt participant engagement in research. We used text messaging and disaster preparedness protocols to re-establish communication, re-engage participants, and ensure retention in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) self-test study.

Methods:

Participants were given HIV home test kits to test themselves and/or their non-monogamous sexual partners before intercourse. A daily text message-based short message service computer-assisted self-interview (SMS-CASI) tool reminded them to report 3 variables: (1) anal sex without a condom, (2) knowledge of partners’ testing history, and (3) proof of partners’ testing history. A disaster preparedness protocol was put in place for hurricanes in Puerto Rico. We analyzed 6315 messages from participants (N = 12) active at the time of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Disaster preparedness narratives were assessed.

Results:

All participants were able to communicate sexual behavior and HIV testing via SMS-CASI within 30 days following María. Some participants (n = 5, 42%) also communicated questions. Re-engagement within 30 days after the hurricane was 100% (second week/89%, third week/100%). Participant re-engagement ranged from 0–16 days (average = 6.4 days). Retention was 100%.

Conclusions:

Daily SMS-CASI and disaster preparedness protocols helped participant engagement and communication after 2 hurricanes. SMS-CASI responses indicated high participant re-engagement, retention, and well-being.

Keywords

communicationdisastersengagementhurricanemHealthre-engagementretentionSMStext messaging
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e2
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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