Pilot testing of a mobile application for chemsex care and support (Chemified).

The phenomenon of chemsex has gained scientific, clinical and societal attention in recent years. The impact of chemsex is substantial, on individual (severe health problems, social and psychological impact) as well as on societal level (i.e. increased risk of STI/HIV transmission and health care costs) We initiated the CHEMIFIED-project to address the current gap in evidence-based support tools, to mitigate, or where possible prevent, (potentially) problematic chemsex. The fastly developing field of digital interventions in health care currently offers new solutions. GBMSM engaging in chemsex carry their smartphone with them constantly and are most of the time online. The use of this digital pathway to reach this group therefore seems well suited. In this project we will develop a just-in-time adaptive intervention (JITAI) for people engaging in chemsex in Flanders. The purpose of so called JITAIs is to provide the right support at the right time, using a digital pathway. After having identified the needs, desirability and acceptability of a mobile intervention for the target population; the objective of our proposed pump priming project is to finalize the preparatory project phase by completing the development of the proof of concept, and pilot-test and adapt this first version. This information will be used to focus a project application for the TBM-program of FWO. With this TBM-project we want to assess the intervention's effectiveness in real life situations, further optimize the intervention and take the first steps towards valorization of the JITAI.

Keywords:HEALTH COMMUNICATION, SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR

Disciplines:Science and health communication

Project type:Collaboration project