Principal Findings
This study assessed the effectiveness of an evidence-based codesigned mobile intervention for individuals living with HIV. Our study revealed that those who used the app had increased adherence and a higher level of self-efficacy in terms of symptom management. However, the effectiveness of this app in changing risk behaviors such as smoking, alcohol use, and drug use was limited.Our study supports the main hypothesis that individuals who used the intervention have better adherence at follow-up appointments. This finding is congruent with other studies about mHealth in HIV [In our study, the change in adherence was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group at 1 month into the intervention but not at 3 months. This could be explained by the fact that adherence is required in HIV/AIDS treatment; thus, it is mandatory for patients to improve compliance regardless of their intervention status. Moreover, the high educational level of the control group could have resulted in higher compliance even without the use of our smartphone app. Although the difference in adherence between the two groups was not significant, the level of treatment adherence self-efficacy was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group at 3 months after starting the intervention. In existing literature, self-efficacy was significantly correlated with short- and long-term adherence [This study managed to test out a new mobile intervention for individuals living with HIV that was conceptualized from a theoretical approach. The data from our study justified the feasibility and acceptability of this new app and complemented existing data regarding mobile interventions for people living with HIV. For example, Garg et al [