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Sociodemographic Differences in Clients Preferring Video-Call Over In-person Interview: A Pilot Study of HIV Tele-partner Services

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Abstract

The New York City Department of Health Disease Intervention Specialists (DIS) routinely contact newly HIV-diagnosed persons via telephone calls and in-person meetings to conduct partner services (PS) interviews in order to elicit the names and contact information of the HIV-exposed partners for notification and HIV-testing, and to assist clients with linkage to care. From October 2013 to December 2015, we offered PS interviews conducted via video-call alongside voice-call and in-person modes in a selected geographic area of NYC. PS interviews were conducted according to the clients’ preferred mode (in-person, voice- or video-call) and location (health care facility, clients’ residences, or other NYC locations). At the conclusion of the PS interviews, DIS elicited responses from persons interviewed via video-call on their perception, satisfaction and personal experiences using video-call for public health and personal purposes. Acceptance and satisfaction with PS interviews via video-call were high among clients aged <30 years, men who have sex with men, or with education above high school; while PS yields were similar across modes. These results provide evidence of the potential effectiveness of video-call interviews for specific populations.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and by a cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for HIV prevention (12-1201). These data were previously presented at HIV Prevention Conference 2015, Atlanta, GA, December 6–9, 2015. The authors wish to thank Kent A. Sepkowitz, MD, Sarah Braunstein, PhD, MPH, Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH, and James Hadler, MD, MPH for substantive comments on the draft manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology and Field Services Program, Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 42-09 28th Street, 22nd Floor, CN-44, Queens, NY, 11101, USA

    Chi-Chi N. Udeagu, Sharmila Shah, Magalieta M. Toussaint & Leonard Pickett

Authors
  1. Chi-Chi N. Udeagu
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  2. Sharmila Shah
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  3. Magalieta M. Toussaint
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Correspondence to Chi-Chi N. Udeagu.

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None of the authors report any conflict of interest.

Human participant protection

No institutional review board approval was necessary because this is a secondary analysis of data collected as part of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene routine case and partner services program.

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Udeagu, CC.N., Shah, S., Toussaint, M.M. et al. Sociodemographic Differences in Clients Preferring Video-Call Over In-person Interview: A Pilot Study of HIV Tele-partner Services. AIDS Behav 21, 3078–3086 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1586-4

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