Background: Women living with HIV in the Southern United States, or the South, face persistent and overlapping challenges to care engagement and antiretroviral therapy adherence, including HIV-related stigma, poverty, and inequitable access to health care. While mobile health (mHealth) interventions show promise for enhancing self-management and care engagement among people living with HIV, interventions tailored to women living with HIV remain limited, particularly those developed through participatory approaches that center their lived experiences. Objective: This study sought to evaluate the acceptability, comprehensibility, and personal relevance of targeted health messages developed for a proposed mHealth app tailored to women living with HIV in the South. In addition, it explored participants’ perceptions of the feasibility and desirability of the proposed intervention. Methods: This study represents phase 3 of a multistage, mixed methods project. Message content was informed by earlier phases, which included individual interviews, surveys, perceptual mapping with women living with HIV, and input from a community and clinician advisory board. In this phase, 3 focus groups (2 virtual and 1 in person) were conducted with 30 women living with HIV recruited from Southern HIV clinics and community organizations. Participants reviewed prototype wireframes and health messages, including SMS text message–style content, and provided feedback on all content. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Results: Participants expressed strong interest in the proposed mHealth app and emphasized the importance of health messaging that is clear, supportive, and personally meaningful. Four key categories emerged: (1) acceptability of a tailored mHealth app, with participants noting the value of privacy, accessibility, and convenience; (2) acceptability of message content, including preferences for affirming, uplifting language and images; (3) personal relevance, particularly for messages addressing stigma, spirituality, family, and empowerment; and (4) comprehensibility, highlighting the need for plain language and visual clarity. Conclusions: These findings support the development of a tailored mHealth intervention for women living with HIV in the South. Co-designed messages that center affirmation, spirituality, and real-life challenges were perceived as acceptable, comprehensible, and highly relevant. Future work will focus on refining the content and prototype testing.

Despite clinical advances, people living with HIV (PLWH) still develop complications due to HIV or the neurotoxicity of treatment regimens, including HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (neuroHIV). However, many PLWH do not know about neuroHIV and few researchers have an understanding of the psychosocial effects of living with HIV or interact with PLWH or advocates providing services. The primary goal of this study was to understand how to enhance community engagement in neuroHIV research translation to ultimately build bidirectional communication channels among PLWH, researchers, and community advocates. To begin to understand the important gaps in building this engagement, a formative needs assessment was conducted in Philadelphia, PA, as part of the Community Partnership Core in the Comprehensive NeuroHIV Center. In-depth interviews were conducted with HIV researchers ( N = 12), PLWH ( N = 13), and community advocates and practitioners (CAPs) ( N = 14). All groups were asked a core set of questions and then group-specific questions were also used. Thematic categories were identified and coded using an iterative process. Three themes emerged: (1) Differential neuroHIV knowledge and interpretive frameworks; (2) Relational and structural disconnects in engagement; and, (3) Stakeholder-specific pathways for dissemination and partnership. All groups highlighted the importance of addressing gaps in communication, fostering meaningful collaborations, and improving the translation of research findings into actionable insights for diverse audiences, including PLWH. However, few PLWH or CAPs were aware of neuroHIV and its potential effects and most researchers were reluctant or felt they did not have the skills to communicate research findings to groups outside of academic or professional settings. Thus, understanding how to create bidirectional communication pathways to connect researchers with PLWH, as well as advocates and service providers, is crucial to ensuring that future research adequately reflects the unique needs of PLWH.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is well documented, but less is known about booster hesitancy among fully vaccinated adults. A qualitative approach was employed to identify factors affecting COVID-19 booster hesitancy using diffusion of innovation (DoI) theory. The study was conducted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In-depth interviews (n = 30) were done with adults, including those who had (n = 9) and had not (n = 21) been boosted. Participants were categorized into DoI adopter groups or a “refuser” group for those with no intention of getting boosted. Transcripts were analyzed using an iterative coding process with consensus and triangulation to develop thematic categories. Participants had a mean age of 41 and were 63.3% Black; 20% were classified as innovators, 6.7% early adopters, 3.3% early majority, 6.7% late majority, 43.3% laggards and 20% refusers. Three themes varied across groups: level of perceived risk susceptibility of getting COVID-19 in the future, information needs and levels of vaccine literacy, and effects of ongoing institutional mistrust. Those in the laggard and refuser groups generally had lower vaccine literacy, higher levels of institutional mistrust, and were more likely to listen to friends and family for booster advice, all consistent with DoI adopter characteristics. These differences indicate important intervention targets to promote booster uptake, especially in those who have been previously vaccinated.

In 2022 there were 37,981 new HIV diagnoses in the United States, 50% of which occurred in the Southern United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2025a). Factors such as lack of aw...

Background: Infectious airborne diseases (IADs) affect an estimated 25–50 million people annually in the US, leading to over 150,000 hospitalizations and billions of dollars in economic costs. Various preventive measures are readily available and implementable to mitigate IADs in workplaces, including mask wearing, social distancing, and handwashing. However, autistic individuals face increased IAD risks due to social communication differences and challenges accessing and following preventive recommendations. Objective: This qualitative study aimed to explore IAD understanding among young working autistic adults, including overall knowledge, preferred training methods, and peer support acceptability. Methods: 20 one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed using Dedoose with autistic adults. Results: Twenty autistic adults, 70% male, with a mean age of 25.8 participated in the study.40% reported additional mental health conditions, while 60% cited learning disabilities. 50% of participants identified as white, 40% as black or African American, and 10% as other for race. Key domains and subtopics include IAD conceptualization, workplace protection facilitators and barriers, information channels, and perceptions of peer support. From these key domains, four overarching themes surfaced: 1) established germ knowledge, 2) engagement in preventive measures, 3) information gathering and appraisal, and 4) perceptions of peer-to-peer learning. Conclusion: This study calls attention to the lack of tailored training for autistic individuals to mitigate IAD risks in workplaces. Insight into knowledge, preferred training methods, and peer support acceptance informs the development of accessible resources. Understanding these aspects is fundamental in developing effective strategies to enhance IAD prevention among autistic individuals in workplace settings.