Acceptability, feasibility and potential of an intervention using secret Facebook groups to complement existing HIV prevention strategies among female sex workers in Cameroon, a randomized pilot study.

This randomized pilot project evaluated an intervention promoting health care literacy around HIV, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and stigma reduction using private social media groups that complemented existing HIV prevention services among female sex workers (FSWs) in Cameroon. The intervention was 12 HIV and sexual health videos tailored to FSWs that were released over 8 weeks through a secret Facebook group platform. In-person surveys were administered before, after the intervention, and three months later. No HIV seroconversions were detected; all participants completed follow-up and agreed to recommend the intervention to a coworker. Although the intervention was assessed to be acceptable and feasible to implement, poor internet connectivity was a key barrier. In time-series analysis, the intervention group participants reported improved PrEP interest, PrEP knowledge, and condom use along with reduced PrEP and HIV-related stigma, but no impact on sex-work related stigma or social cohesion. Similar results occurred in the control group. Cross-contamination and small pilot study size might have hindered the ability to detect the differential impact of this intervention. As communications technology increases in Cameroon, it is essential to learn more about FSWs preferences on the use of social media platforms for HIV prevention strategies.

Understanding female sex workers' acceptance of secret Facebook group for HIV prevention in Cameroon.

Despite the widespread utilization of social media in HIV prevention interventions, little is known about the acceptance of social media in the dissemination of HIV prevention information among key at-risk groups like female sex workers (FSWs). This study has investigated FSWs' acceptance of Secret Facebook Group (SFG) in learning about HIV prevention. During June 2022, a quantitative study was conducted using a 5-star point Likert scale survey among 40 FSWs aged 18 years and older who took part in a Secret Facebook Group (SFG) HIV intervention. Descriptive statistics described demographics, social media accessibility, perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), and acceptance among survey participants using SPSS and SAS. Most study participants found SFG utilized in HIV prevention intervention acceptable. Seventy-five percent (75%) of participants selected 5 stars for the acceptance of SFG. The majority of participants used social media, spent more than 90 minutes on social media per day, and could participate in the SFG HIV prevention intervention if airtime was not provided by study investigators, despite experiencing times when the internet was interrupted. The results also showed the PU and PEOU mean scores of SFG in the HIV prevention intervention were slightly lower than the acceptance scores (4.70 and 4.50 vs. 4.74). The data suggested future research should focus on explaining FSWs acceptance of social media and identifying social media platform alternatives for HIV prevention intervention. This study provided useful insights into social media acceptance, use, and importance in HIV prevention education among FSWs. The findings also indicate the need for further research on the reasons for acceptance of social media and relevant social media platforms supporting HIV prevention education among FSWs.

Beyond COVID-19: The State of Telehealth Equity and Best Practices in Underserved Populations.

Telehealth is now a fundamental health approach to address health-related needs in a way that is consistent with the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) globally.