1322. A Mobile Technology-Based Intervention Improves HIV Care Continuum for Young People Living with HIV

Abstract Background Young people living with HIV (YPLWH) have lower rates of retention in care and HIV viral suppression. Multiple barriers exist to engage YPLWH in care. As nearly all YPLWH use their mobile phones to access health information and to communicate with other people, we implemented a mobile technology-based intervention with the goal to improve HIV care continuum in YPLWH. Methods YPLWH were eligible for this study if they were: (1) aged 18–34 years; (2) newly diagnosed with HIV; (3) having a history of being out of care; or (4) not virally suppressed. We recruited YPLWH during January 2017-May 2018 and followed them every 6 months. We developed a HIPAA-compliant mobile application, “OPT-In For Life,” and let participants use this app to manage their HIV care. The app integrated multiple features that enabled users to communicate with the HIV treatment team via a secure messaging function, to access laboratory results and HIV prevention resources, and to set up appointment or medication reminders. We obtained participants’ demographics, app-usage data, and medical records to evaluate if this mobile technology-based intervention would improve HIV care continuum among YPLWH. We used a quasi-experiment study design to compare the rates of retention in care and HIV viral suppression every 6 months between study participants and YPLWH who were eligible but not enrolled in the study. Results 92 YPLWH participated in this study (70% male, 56% Hispanics or Blacks, 54% retained in care, and 66% virally suppressed at baseline). On average study participants used the app 1–2 times/week to discuss various health issues and supportive services with HIV providers, to access HIV-related health information, and to manage their HIV care. At the 6-month evaluation, compared with 88 eligible YPLWH who were not enrolled in this intervention, study participants had increased rates of retention in care (baseline-to-6-month between participants and nonparticipants: 54%–84% vs. 26%–25%) and HIV viral suppression (66%–80% vs. 56%–60%). Conclusion Our study demonstrates using a HIPAA-compliant mobile app as an effective intervention to engage YPLWH in care. This intervention can be adapted by other HIV programs to improve HIV care continuum for YPLWH or broader HIV populations. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.