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The use of mobile apps increased pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake and HIV testing among young sexual minority men in nine United States cities, according to findings published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. Katie Biello, PhD, MPH, and colleagues examined the efficacy of two apps—LYNX and MyChoices—to increase HIV testing and PrEP uptake among 381 young sexual minority men (mean age, 22); 60% identified as gay. More than half (53%) lived in the Southern United States. At baseline, participants self-reported the following: 29% had never had an HIV test, and 85% had never used PrEP. Compared with the standard of care, those randomly assigned to the MyChoices arm were more likely to have received at least 1 HIV test over 6 months (P=0.01); those randomly assigned to the LYNX arm also had a higher proportion of testing. Participants in both MyChoices (21%) and LYNX (20%) arms had higher rates of PrEP initiation versus the standard of care (16%).
