mHealth Strategies to Promote Uptake and Adherence to PrEP: A Systematic Review

Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is the use of antiretroviral medications by high-risk HIV-negative individuals to prevent HIV infection and when taken consistently, PrEP can effectively reduce HIV infection risk. The purpose of this literature review was to research existing studies that have used mHealth strategies to prevent HIV and promote uptake and adherence to PrEP. This review is meant to aid in the future development of an app for PrEP adherence and HIV prevention in Taiwan. A systematic journal review of published, peer-reviewed literature was conducted in May and June 2019 to identify and evaluate existing interventions for HIV prevention and PrEP adherence in humans. We identified 22 papers published during or after 2016. Social Cognitive Theory was used by most studies to formulate their intervention strategies. There were several common design features found in studies involving mHealth interventions, such as gamification, notifications, medication log, and education. While the diary feature, including both a sexual activity log and medication log, is critical for preventing HIV, a few more elements should be added to improve the diary feature, including a mood log to show correlations and trends in mental health, and a drug use log to track drug use with PrEP adherence. As more studies that are focusing on the formulation of apps for HIV prevention complete their clinical trial phases, more data will exist to aid researchers in developing the best possible app.