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Use of Technology to Address Substance Use in the Context of HIV: A Systematic Review

  • HIV and Technology (J Simoni and K Horvath, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Substance users are at elevated risk for HIV. HIV researchers, particularly at the intersection of HIV and substance use, have requested new methods to better understand and address this important area. New technologies, such as social media and mobile applications, are increasingly being used as research tools in studies on HIV and substance use. These technologies have the potential to build on existing recruitment methods, provide new and improved intervention methods, and introduce novel ways of monitoring and predicting new HIV cases. However, little work has been done to review and broadly explore the types of studies being conducted on the use of technologies to address HIV and substance use. This systematic literature review identified studies on this topic between 2005 and 2015. We identified 33 studies on this topic after excluding studies that did not fit inclusion criteria. Studies were either observational (n = 24) or interventional (n = 9), with the majority being pilot studies exploring the feasibility of using these new technologies to study HIV and substance use. We discuss the implications of this work along with limitations and recommendations for future research on this topic.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCLA Department of Family Medicine, University of California Institute for Prediction Technology, 10880 Wilshire Blvd Suite 1800, Los Angeles, CA, 90049, USA

    Sean D. Young

  2. UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Dallas Swendeman

  3. Department of Social Welfare, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Ian W. Holloway

  4. Friends Research Institute, Inc., David Geffen School of Medicine, Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Cathy J. Reback

  5. UCLA Department of Family Medicine, UCLA Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Uyen Kao

Authors
  1. Sean D. Young
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  2. Dallas Swendeman
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  3. Ian W. Holloway
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  4. Cathy J. Reback
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  5. Uyen Kao
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Correspondence to Sean D. Young.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on HIV and Technology

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Young, S.D., Swendeman, D., Holloway, I.W. et al. Use of Technology to Address Substance Use in the Context of HIV: A Systematic Review. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep 12, 462–471 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11904-015-0295-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11904-015-0295-3

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