Methods: This is a secondary analysis study that uses baseline data from SEPA III: The Effectiveness Trial. SEPA stands for Salud/Health, Educacion/Education, Prevencion/Prevention y/and Autocuidado/Self-Care (2P60MD002266-06, NIH/NIMHD). The sample is 320 Hispanic women recruited in Miami, Florida. Recruitment occurred in 2 health care centers and public places that Hispanic women visit frequently. Female bilingual assessors interviewed women in their preferred language (Spanish or English) using a structured interview. We used SPSS version 22.0 to analyze sociodemographic information and descriptive information about women’s use of technology. Logistic regression (LR) was used to predict the use of technology to learn about HIV prevention. In terms of regression analysis, the independent variables living with a partner and years living in the U.S. were dichotomized. The other independent variables education, age, and time since the last visit to the health care provider were listed as continuous.
Results: The majority of the women were living with their spouse or partner (219, 68%) and had less than 5 years living in the U.S. (60%). The average length of time in the U.S. was 8.50 (SD = 8.25) years. Average age of the women was 34.79 (SD = 9.23) years, and average education was 13.73 (SD = 3.34) years. The majority (n = 300, 94%) of women said the preferred Spanish, with (n = 14, 4%) preferring English, and (n = 6, 2%) both Spanish and English. The average time (months) since they las saw the doctor or health care provider was 9.4 ± 14.6 months. Participants reported Internet as the highest used technology (93.8%), followed by smartphones (90.6%), and email (88.1%). The majority of the participants (71.3%) reported to use internet to learn about HIV. In the LR analysis, results showed that participants who use the internet to learn about HIV, had a higher probability of reporting lower levels of education (OR=1.113, CI=95%), and more time since the last visit to a health care provider (OR=1.017, CI=95%) after controlling for age, living with the partner, and years living in the U.S.
Conclusion: The findings from this investigation contribute substantially to our understanding regarding the use of technology among Hispanic women and how it may be implemented as a facet of HIV/STI prevention. The results indicate that members of this population appear to have a high level of access to and comfort with various means of technology and electronic dissemination of health-related information. Another important observation encountered in this investigation is the association between length of time between visit to the doctor and the use of the internet to learn about STI and HIV prevention, as well as that between education and the use of the internet learn about STI and HIV prevention. These relationships underscore the potential for vulnerable populations experiencing barriers to access to care to turn to Web or other electronic media as a substitute for medical care. While the high levels of electronic literacy among participants in the study can be regarded as positive, Web-based health information may be of varying quality. It is imperative to ensure that women not relay on technology as a substitute for adequate health care. Moreover, health care educators active in HIV/STI prevention efforts should continue work to expand outreach among women possessing fewer years of education and vigilant to combatting misinformation found on the internet.