Challenges and Lessons Learned From a Mobile Health, Web-Based Human Papillomavirus Intervention for Female Korean American College Students: Feasibility Experimental Study

BACKGROUND: Mobile health (mHealth) and Web-based research methods are becoming more commonplace for researchers. However, there is a lack of mHealth and Web-based human papillomavirus (HPV) prevention experimental studies that discuss potential issues that may arise. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the feasibility of research procedures and discuss the challenges and lessons learned from an mHealth and Web-based HPV prevention experimental study targeting female Korean American college students in the United States. METHODS: A pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in an mHealth and Web-based platform with 104 female Korean American college students aged 18-26 years between September 2016 and December 2016. Participants were randomized to either the experimental group (a storytelling video intervention) or the comparison group (a nonnarrative, information-based intervention). Outcomes included the feasibility of research procedures (recruitment, eligibility, randomization, and retention). RESULTS: From September 2016 to October 2016, we recorded 225 entries in our initial eligibility survey. The eligibility rate was 54.2% (122/225). This study demonstrated a high recruitment rate (95.6%, 111/122) and retention rate (83.7%, 87/104) at the 2-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study demonstrated sufficient feasibility in terms of research procedures to justify a full-scale RCT. Given the increased possibility of invalid or misrepresentative entries in mHealth and Web-based studies, strategies for detection and prevention are critical. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN12175285; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN12175285