Development of a peer support and precision matching mobile platform for health management for people living with HIV

Abstract

Objectives

This study aimed to describe the development process of the peer precision-matching and health management mobile platform “Aspark” for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH) and to evaluate its usability.

Methods

The study assembled a multidisciplinary research and development team comprising researchers, software engineers, art designers, clinical nursing specialists, HIV peer volunteers, and psychological counselors. The team employed an agile development model to iteratively build the platform. Using the social determinants of health framework and the interpersonal circumplex, we identified 14 matching variables for the mobile platform. A video production team was formed to create peer training videos on health management for PLWH. We integrated relevant tools to provide PLWH with various types of support, including informational, instrumental, emotional, affiliational, and appraisal assistance. From March to May 2024, the research team used convenience sampling to select 130 platform users. It administered an electronic questionnaire based on the System Usability Scale to evaluate the platform’s overall usability.

Results

The platform incorporates multiple functional modules, including “Precision Matching,” “Drug Interaction Query,” “Medication Reminder,” “Health Management,” “Mood Diary,” “Community Discussion,” and “Activity Center,” achieving comprehensive coverage across informational, emotional, instrumental, social, and appraisal support. The precision matching module facilitates intelligent pairing between patients and peer volunteers; the health management module allows for the entry of test results and trend analysis; medication reminders and check-in features enhance medication adherence; the mood diary supports emotional recording and expressive writing; while the community module offers functions such as topic discussions, appointment scheduling, and organization of offline activities. Among the 130 valid questionnaires, more than 83 % of users scored above 68 on the System Usability Scale, indicating that the platform demonstrates favourable usability.

Conclusions

The “Aspark” platform offers a feasible and promising digital solution for precision matching in HIV peer support and health management, enabling healthcare providers to deliver personalized and continuous health support to patients through its functions. Well-designed clinical trials should be conducted in the future to evaluate the effectiveness of this tool.