CIRA Talk: "Developing a Chatbot to Promote HIV Testing and Prevention"

Malaysia has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in Southeast Asia. Surveillance data suggest over one in five (21.6%) MSM in Malaysia are living with HIV. Contributing to this epidemic is the low uptake of HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis among Malaysian MSM. Technology-based approaches, such as chatbots, are innovative strategies for improving linkage to HIV testing and prevention services. In this session, we will introduce a culturally-tailored chatbot that was developed to increase HIV testing and prevention among MSM in Malaysia. The facilitators and barriers to MSM's acceptance of chatbots and their preferred features will be introduced.