HIV Calendar

Prototype

View of structures with metal siding

In summer 2019, we began developing the tablet application to address what we learned about in the TRHC pilot.87 First, while visually important, the paper fold-out grid was cumbersome and difficult for participants and interviewers to work with. To address this, we wanted a tablet application that would allow for computerized data collection by the interviewer alongside a viewable, simplified calendar where the respondent can still view key dates. Second, some questions were not viable as ‘timeline’ questions. Thus, in the electronic format, we made these survey-type questions or prompts into ‘pop-ups’ that occur when events (e.g., the date of HIV testing or NCD diagnosis) are entered in a calendar timeline. Third, while the paper version allowed for hand-written comments that were very useful for understanding the contextual factors leading to participants’ HIV testing, relationships, and health decisions,87 it was not feasible at a larger scale. As such, the tablet application includes text boxes for the interviewer to enter comments during the interview (e.g., notes on or respondent’s narrative description of decisions or interactions related to a particular event) and prompts at the end to answer a series of questions and reflections on the interview. This searchable text will capture critical context that we need to identify the variables for our analytic models.