PlusCare: Mobile Platform to Increase Linkage to Care in Adolescents Living With HIV/AIDS

With the advancement of medical treatments, which has contributed to the overall decrease in
opportunistic infections and deaths related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in youth,
there is a need to ensure that youth living with HIV (YLH) are linked to and engaged in care
to successfully achieve viral suppression. While an increasing number of mobile health
(mHealth) technologies have been designed to address HIV prevention and care, a critical gap
in innovation remains in tools designed to address the specific needs of YLH. In a Phase I
project, investigators demonstrated the acceptability and feasibility of a user-centered
prototype design of PlusCare, an mHealth application that can be used by YLH and their case
managers (CMs) to support HIV care. Results of Phase I suggest that PlusCare could facilitate
multi-disciplinary, team-based case management of YLH by supporting the sharing and signing
of documents remotely, automation of adherence reminders, sharing of lab results, alerts CMs
about program requirements related to age and developmental milestones, streamlining of
communication between multiple members of a patient's case management team and the patient,
and offering accessibility to data from multiple modalities. In this Phase II project,
investigators will conduct a mixed methods, non-randomized pre-post study with CMs (N=20) and
YLH patients (N=70) to examine the use of PlusCare on case management processes and health
outcomes (i.e., HIV viral load, medical visit frequency and gaps) in 3 different case
management programs at 2 different clinical study site settings. An initial cost analysis
will be performed to assess potential cost effectiveness. Results of these Phase I and II
projects will inform the development of a product that can be used in multiple case
management settings and prepare PlusCare for future commercialization. Results have
implications for future development of PlusCare to serve the broader HIV population (YLH aged
25-34 years old and at-risk individuals) as well as youth living with other chronic health
conditions.

PATIENTS:

Inclusion Criteria:

- between 13-25 years old

- HIV positive

- enrolled in treatment at a participating study site

- owns or has ability to access a smartphone (e.g., iPhone, Android) for one year

Exclusion Criteria:

- Non-English speaker or

- Visually/hearing impaired

CASE MANAGERS:

Inclusion Criteria:

- Actively employed at a participating study site

- Performs case management duties with HIV-positive patients aged 13-25 years.

Exclusion Criteria:

- (None)