Author summary Mobile health (“mHealth”) is the use of mobile technology applications (on smartphones, tablet computers, and other devices) to support healthcare and facilitate communication between patients and providers. mHealth applications (“app”) have been developed for some groups vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV including men who have sex with men, but not for Black women. Little research has been done on Black women’s interest in a sexual health focused mHealth application. We surveyed 213 Black adolescent and adult women attending a family planning clinic in Chicago, Illinois. We asked about their sexual health history, if they had previously used an mHealth app, interest in an mHealth app for sexual health, and what features to include in such an app. Most participants had a history of mHealth use (67.6%), were interested in using technology as part of sexual healthcare (84.5%) and were interested in downloading an mHealth app for sexual healthcare (74.7%). Survey results did not differ much when examined by age group or HIV vulnerability. The high interest in using an mHealth app for sexual healthcare in our participants underlines the importance of app development among this key population.
Abstract
Black women are disproportionally likely to contract sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV compared to women of other races and ethnicities. It is possible that mobile health (referred to as “mHealth”) strategies, including mo… [21451 chars]
Source: PLOS (Public Library of Science) | Published: 2025-11-13T00:00:00Z
Credit: PLOS (Public Library of Science)
