Using E-health Video to Dissemination Information on Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for African American Women

Recent advances in information technology have enabled the development of a new wave of computer-delivered HIV prevention and sexual health interventions that combine several interactive media elements such as websites,... [ view full abstract ]

Recent advances in information technology have enabled the development of a new wave of computer-delivered HIV prevention and sexual health interventions that combine several interactive media elements such as websites, multimedia presentations, animations, audio and video clips, games and social networking applications. Computer technology used for health interventions offers low cost, accessible, and individually-tailored support that could be easily disseminated. To test the feasibility of an e-health intervention using a brief avatar video to educate African American women on post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), we conducted an online study with a sample of sexually active African American women (n=91). Prior to watching the video 20.9% reported awareness of PEP and 18.7% reported awareness of PrEP. Overall, the video received a positive rating with 89% rating the video as good or higher and 91% indicating that they would recommend the video to other women. Analysis showed that a higher rating of the educational video was significantly predicted by: no current use of drugs/alcohol (β =-.814, SEB =-.278, p = .004); not having unprotected sex in the last 3 months (β =-.488, SEB =-.217, p = .025); higher income (β =.149, SEB = .235, p = .026); lower level of education (β =-.267, SEB = .300, p = .005); and, a lower exposure to sexual assault since age 18 (β =-.313, SEB = -.288, p = .004). The use of e-health videos to dissemination information on sexual education topics such as, PEP and PrEP, can be considered as an effective mode of health education for African American women. Future research is needed to understand the feasibility of using e-health interventions for African American women who may be at higher risk of HIV infection.