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Ethical Issues in the Use of Smartphone Apps for HIV Prevention in Malaysia: Focus Group Study With Men Who Have Sex With Men

BACKGROUND: The use of smartphone apps can improve the HIV prevention cascade for key populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM). In Malaysia, where stigma and discrimination toward MSM are high, mobile health app-based strategies have the potential to open new frontiers for HIV prevention....

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Autores principales: Khati, Antoine, Wickersham, Jeffrey A, Rosen, Aviana O, Luces, Jeffrey Ralph B, Copenhaver, Nicholas, Jeri-Wahrhaftig, Alma, Ab Halim, Mohd Akbar, Azwa, Iskandar, Gautam, Kamal, Ooi, Kai Hong, Shrestha, Roman
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: JMIR Publications 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9823573/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36563046
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/42939
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author Khati, Antoine
Wickersham, Jeffrey A
Rosen, Aviana O
Luces, Jeffrey Ralph B
Copenhaver, Nicholas
Jeri-Wahrhaftig, Alma
Ab Halim, Mohd Akbar
Azwa, Iskandar
Gautam, Kamal
Ooi, Kai Hong
Shrestha, Roman
author_facet Khati, Antoine
Wickersham, Jeffrey A
Rosen, Aviana O
Luces, Jeffrey Ralph B
Copenhaver, Nicholas
Jeri-Wahrhaftig, Alma
Ab Halim, Mohd Akbar
Azwa, Iskandar
Gautam, Kamal
Ooi, Kai Hong
Shrestha, Roman
author_sort Khati, Antoine
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: The use of smartphone apps can improve the HIV prevention cascade for key populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM). In Malaysia, where stigma and discrimination toward MSM are high, mobile health app-based strategies have the potential to open new frontiers for HIV prevention. However, little guidance is available to inform researchers about the ethical concerns that are unique to the development and implementation of app-based HIV prevention programs. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to fill this gap by characterizing the attitudes and concerns of Malaysian MSM regarding HIV prevention mobile apps, particularly regarding the ethical aspects surrounding their use. METHODS: We conducted web-based focus group discussions with 23 MSM between August and September 2021. Using in-depth semistructured interviews, participants were asked about the risks and ethical issues they perceived to be associated with using mobile apps for HIV prevention. Each session was digitally recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were inductively coded using the Dedoose software (SocioCultural Research Consultants) and analyzed to identify and interpret emerging themes. RESULTS: Although participants were highly willing to use app-based strategies for HIV prevention, they raised several ethical concerns related to their use. Prominent concerns raised by participants included privacy and confidentiality concerns, including fear of third-party access to personal health information (eg, friends or family and government agencies), issues around personal health data storage and management, equity and equitable access, informed consent, and regulation. CONCLUSIONS: The study’s findings highlight the role of ethical concerns related to the use of app-based HIV prevention programs. Given the ever-growing nature of such technological platforms that are intermixed with a complex ethical-legal landscape, mobile health platforms must be safe and secure to minimize unintended harm, safeguard user privacy and confidentiality, and obtain public trust and uptake.
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spelling pubmed-98235732023-01-08 Ethical Issues in the Use of Smartphone Apps for HIV Prevention in Malaysia: Focus Group Study With Men Who Have Sex With Men Khati, Antoine Wickersham, Jeffrey A Rosen, Aviana O Luces, Jeffrey Ralph B Copenhaver, Nicholas Jeri-Wahrhaftig, Alma Ab Halim, Mohd Akbar Azwa, Iskandar Gautam, Kamal Ooi, Kai Hong Shrestha, Roman JMIR Form Res Original Paper BACKGROUND: The use of smartphone apps can improve the HIV prevention cascade for key populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM). In Malaysia, where stigma and discrimination toward MSM are high, mobile health app-based strategies have the potential to open new frontiers for HIV prevention. However, little guidance is available to inform researchers about the ethical concerns that are unique to the development and implementation of app-based HIV prevention programs. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to fill this gap by characterizing the attitudes and concerns of Malaysian MSM regarding HIV prevention mobile apps, particularly regarding the ethical aspects surrounding their use. METHODS: We conducted web-based focus group discussions with 23 MSM between August and September 2021. Using in-depth semistructured interviews, participants were asked about the risks and ethical issues they perceived to be associated with using mobile apps for HIV prevention. Each session was digitally recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were inductively coded using the Dedoose software (SocioCultural Research Consultants) and analyzed to identify and interpret emerging themes. RESULTS: Although participants were highly willing to use app-based strategies for HIV prevention, they raised several ethical concerns related to their use. Prominent concerns raised by participants included privacy and confidentiality concerns, including fear of third-party access to personal health information (eg, friends or family and government agencies), issues around personal health data storage and management, equity and equitable access, informed consent, and regulation. CONCLUSIONS: The study’s findings highlight the role of ethical concerns related to the use of app-based HIV prevention programs. Given the ever-growing nature of such technological platforms that are intermixed with a complex ethical-legal landscape, mobile health platforms must be safe and secure to minimize unintended harm, safeguard user privacy and confidentiality, and obtain public trust and uptake. JMIR Publications 2022-12-23 /pmc/articles/PMC9823573/ /pubmed/36563046 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/42939 Text en ©Antoine Khati, Jeffrey A Wickersham, Aviana O Rosen, Jeffrey Ralph B Luces, Nicholas Copenhaver, Alma Jeri-Wahrhaftig, Mohd Akbar Ab Halim, Iskandar Azwa, Kamal Gautam, Kai Hong Ooi, Roman Shrestha. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 23.12.2022. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Formative Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://formative.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
spellingShingle Original Paper
Khati, Antoine
Wickersham, Jeffrey A
Rosen, Aviana O
Luces, Jeffrey Ralph B
Copenhaver, Nicholas
Jeri-Wahrhaftig, Alma
Ab Halim, Mohd Akbar
Azwa, Iskandar
Gautam, Kamal
Ooi, Kai Hong
Shrestha, Roman
Ethical Issues in the Use of Smartphone Apps for HIV Prevention in Malaysia: Focus Group Study With Men Who Have Sex With Men
title Ethical Issues in the Use of Smartphone Apps for HIV Prevention in Malaysia: Focus Group Study With Men Who Have Sex With Men
title_full Ethical Issues in the Use of Smartphone Apps for HIV Prevention in Malaysia: Focus Group Study With Men Who Have Sex With Men
title_fullStr Ethical Issues in the Use of Smartphone Apps for HIV Prevention in Malaysia: Focus Group Study With Men Who Have Sex With Men
title_full_unstemmed Ethical Issues in the Use of Smartphone Apps for HIV Prevention in Malaysia: Focus Group Study With Men Who Have Sex With Men
title_short Ethical Issues in the Use of Smartphone Apps for HIV Prevention in Malaysia: Focus Group Study With Men Who Have Sex With Men
title_sort ethical issues in the use of smartphone apps for hiv prevention in malaysia: focus group study with men who have sex with men
topic Original Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9823573/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36563046
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/42939
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