Sexual Health Behaviors and Knowledge Among Ugandan Adolescent Girls: Implications for Advancing Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Technology.

Background: Adolescent girls in Uganda have four-fold HIV infections than adolescent boys. Several barriers to accessing comprehensive sexual health education exist for adolescent girls in Uganda, including unequal, social, and economic statuses, limited access to education and health care services, discrimination, and violence.

Objective: This study qualitatively examines sexual health behaviors and literacy among Ugandan adolescent girls and explores how technology may be leveraged to improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes in this population.

Barriers and Facilitators to HIV Testing Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Washington, District of Columbia: Formative Research to Inform the Development of an mHealth Intervention.

Background: Adolescents and young adults (AYA) in the United States, and in Washington, District of Columbia (DC), specifically, are disproportionately affected by HIV. Both the national Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative and DC-specific plans emphasize HIV testing, and innovative strategies to encourage testing among AYA are needed.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify sexual behaviors, HIV knowledge, HIV perceptions (eg, susceptibility and severity), and perceived barriers and facilitators to HIV testing among AYA at risk for HIV in DC.

Development, Refinement, and Acceptability of Digital Gaming to Improve HIV Testing Among Adolescents and Young Adults at Risk for HIV.

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) account for >20% of new HIV diagnoses in the United States, yet >50% are unaware of their infection. Digital gaming is widespread among youth and has proven efficacious in other disease areas; thus, we sought to determine whether a life-and-dating simulation game to increase HIV testing would be acceptable among AYAs. Focus groups and surveys were administered to health care providers and AYAs in Washington, DC.

Digital Gaming to Improve Adherence Among Adolescents and Young Adults Living With HIV: Mixed-Methods Study to Test Feasibility and Acceptability.

Background: An estimated 50% of adolescents and young adults (AYA) living with HIV are failing to adhere to prescribed antiretroviral treatment (ART). Digital games are effective in chronic disease management; however, research on gaming to improve ART adherence among AYA is limited.

Objective: We assessed the feasibility and acceptability of video gaming to improve AYA ART adherence.

Measuring Sense of Community Responsibility in Community-Based Prevention Coalitions: An Item Response Theory Analysis.

Research on sense of community (SOC) has traditionally been approached from a resource perspective. Recently, however, research on the experience of SOC has evolved to include a related but distinct construct of sense of community responsibility (SOC-R), or feelings of accountability for the well-being of a community. This study applied item response theory to examine the psychometric properties of a SOC-R scale used in an evaluation of community-based substance abuse prevention coalitions.