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Using mobile technology to engage sexual and gender minorities in clinical research
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, Vol 14, Iss 5, p e0216282 (2019), PloS one, vol 14, iss 5
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2019.
-
Abstract
- IntroductionHistorical and current stigmatizing and discriminatory experiences drive sexual and gender minority (SGM) people away from health care and clinical research. Being medically underserved, they face numerous disparities that make them vulnerable to poor health outcomes. Effective methods to engage and recruit SGM people into clinical research studies are needed.ObjectivesTo promote health equity and understand SGM health needs, we sought to design an online, national, longitudinal cohort study entitled The PRIDE (Population Research in Identity and Disparities for Equality) Study that enabled SGM people to safely participate, provide demographic and health data, and generate SGM health-related research ideas.MethodsWe developed an iPhone mobile application ("app") to engage and recruit SGM people to The PRIDE Study-Phase 1. Participants completed demographic and health surveys and joined in asynchronous discussions about SGM health-related topics important to them for future study.ResultsThe PRIDE Study-Phase 1 consented 18,099 participants. Of them, 16,394 provided data. More than 98% identified as a sexual minority, and more than 15% identified as a gender minority. The sample was diverse in terms of sexual orientation, gender identity, age, race, ethnicity, geographic location, education, and individual income. Participants completed 24,022 surveys, provided 3,544 health topics important to them, and cast 60,522 votes indicating their opinion of a particular health topic.ConclusionsWe developed an iPhone app that recruited SGM adults and collected demographic and health data for a new national online cohort study. Digital engagement features empowered participants to become committed stakeholders in the research development process. We believe this is the first time that a mobile app has been used to specifically engage and recruit large numbers of an underrepresented population for clinical research. Similar approaches may be successful, convenient, and cost-effective at engaging and recruiting other vulnerable populations into clinical research studies.
- Subjects :
- Research design
Adult
Male
050103 clinical psychology
Pride
Adolescent
General Science & Technology
media_common.quotation_subject
Science
Population
Ethnic group
Basic Behavioral and Social Science
03 medical and health sciences
Sexual and Gender Minorities
0302 clinical medicine
5. Gender equality
Clinical Research
Health care
Behavioral and Social Science
Humans
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
030212 general & internal medicine
Longitudinal Studies
10. No inequality
education
media_common
Aged
education.field_of_study
Medical education
Multidisciplinary
business.industry
05 social sciences
Gender Identity
Middle Aged
Mobile Applications
Health equity
3. Good health
Sexual minority
Good Health and Well Being
Sexual orientation
Medicine
Female
business
Psychology
Research Article
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 14
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLoS ONE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....e8ae2f68fa8b97baeeb35460dbc71754