IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v22y2025i7p972-d1683552.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Preferences of South African Adolescents Living with HIV in the Western Cape Province Regarding the Use of Digital Technology for Self-Management

Author

Listed:
  • Leonie Weyers

    (School of Nursing, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town 7535, South Africa)

  • Talitha Crowley

    (School of Nursing, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town 7535, South Africa)

  • Lwandile Tokwe

    (HIV Mental Health Research Unit, Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa)

Abstract

Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) face significant challenges in self-managing their chronic condition. Digital health technology (DHT) has become increasingly common and understanding ALHIVs’ preferences is essential for developing interventions tailored to this unique population. This study aimed to explore the preferences of ALHIV regarding the use of DHT for self-management. A qualitative research approach with an exploratory and descriptive design was used. Participants were recruited using a purposive sampling method. Data were gathered through six nominal focus groups with 29 participants at two Community Health Centers in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The participants were ALHIV aged 15–24 years. Discussions focused on current technology usage and the ranking of desired DHT features. The transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three main themes emerged: (1) everyday usage of digital technology where participants frequently used digital devices for communication, social media, and finding information; (2) the role of digital technology in self-management; a strong interest in digital technology that provides medication reminders, health education, and peer support; and (3) factors influencing digital technology, including the cost of data, limited connectivity, and issues of privacy related to participants’ HIV status. The ALHIV showed a strong willingness to use digital platforms for health information, reminders, and peer support, although concerns about connectivity, data cost, and privacy remain. These findings underscore the need for flexible, user-centered approaches when designing DHT interventions for self-management in South Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonie Weyers & Talitha Crowley & Lwandile Tokwe, 2025. "Preferences of South African Adolescents Living with HIV in the Western Cape Province Regarding the Use of Digital Technology for Self-Management," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(7), pages 1-14, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:7:p:972-:d:1683552
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/7/972/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/7/972/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hennink, Monique & Kaiser, Bonnie N., 2022. "Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    2. Matthew Armstrong & Nicole K. Halim & Rebecca Raeside & Si Si Jia & Karice Hyun & Farzaneh Boroumand & Mariam Mandoh & Anna C. Singleton & Philayrath Phongsavan & Julie Redfern & Stephanie R. Partridg, 2021. "How Helpful and What Is the Quality of Digital Sources of Healthy Lifestyle Information Used by Australian Adolescents? A Mixed Methods Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Geir Gunnlaugsson & Thomas Andrew Whitehead & Fatou N’dure Baboudóttir & Aladje Baldé & Zeca Jandi & Hamadou Boiro & Jónína Einarsdóttir, 2020. "Use of Digital Technology among Adolescents Attending Schools in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-21, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gülüm Özer & İdil Işık & Jordi Escartín, 2024. "Is There Somebody Looking out for Me? A Qualitative Analysis of Bullying Experiences of Individuals Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(2), pages 1-22, January.
    2. Júlio Belo Fernandes & Diana Vareta & Sónia Fernandes & Ana Silva Almeida & Dina Peças & Noélia Ferreira & Liliana Roldão, 2022. "Rehabilitation Workforce Challenges to Implement Person-Centered Care," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-9, March.
    3. Chikako Ishizuka & Kei Aoki, 2024. "Drivers of sustained brand engagement: cases of long-term customers of hedonic and utilitarian brands in Japan," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(4), pages 979-989, December.
    4. Daniel Muir & Cristiana Orlando & Becci Newton, 2024. "Impact of summer programmes on the outcomes of disadvantaged or ‘at risk’ young people: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), June.
    5. Reem Mohamed Gouda & Yasser Tawfik Halim, 2025. "The role of sustainable social media content in enhancing customer loyalty in the hospitality industry," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-26, December.
    6. Maria Provenzano & Nicola Cillara & Felice Curcio & Maria Orsola Pisu & Cesar Iván Avilés González & Maria Francisca Jiménez-Herrera, 2024. "Electronic Health Record Adoption and Its Effects on Healthcare Staff: A Qualitative Study of Well-Being and Workplace Stress," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(11), pages 1-14, October.
    7. Amro Hassan Ibrahim Alhassan & Zainudin Bin Hassan, 2024. "Understanding the Factors Behind Dropout Decisions: A Study of Primary School Students in Red Sea State, Sudan," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(3s), pages 5023-5034, October.
    8. Kocsis, Zsófia & Pusztai, Gabriella, 2025. "The role of higher education through the eyes of Hungarian undergraduate students and graduates: A qualitative exploratory study," International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, vol. 12(1), pages 48-75.
    9. Nurul Hidayana Mohd Noor & Amirah Mohamad Fuzi & Nurin Farzana Mohamad Fadzil & Afief El Ashfahany, 2025. "Measuring Financial Management and Bankability of Small Business Mumpreneurs through Triangulation Study," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 17(1), pages 328-341.
    10. Yu, Jiazhou & Dong, Dong & Sumerlin, Timothy S. & Kim, Jean H., 2023. "Feasibility of introducing effective alcohol harms reduction strategies in a low regulation region: A qualitative study from Hong Kong," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    11. Maiss Ahmad & Stephen Wilkins, 2025. "Purposive sampling in qualitative research: a framework for the entire journey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 1461-1479, April.
    12. Syazuin Sazali & Rozina Muzaffar & Maya Lestari Muchtar & Najibah Binti Yasin, 2025. "From Aspirations to Decisions: A Biographical Study on Factors Influencing Postgraduate Students’ Choices of HEI in Malaysia," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(1), pages 5092-5109, January.
    13. Hall, Julie & Hawkins, Olivia & Montgomery, Amy & Singh, Saniya & Mullan, Judy & Degeling, Chris, 2022. "Dismantling antibiotic infrastructures in residential aged care: The invisible work of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    14. Zhang, Jinsui & Hu, Min & Jia, Yusheng & Gu, Yuanyuan & Chen, Wen, 2024. "How should regulatory schemes be optimized to enhance deterrence against medical insurance fraud by enrollees? Evidence from a discrete choice experiment in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 354(C).
    15. Hossam Mohamed Elhamy & Maha Abdulmajeed, 2023. "Arab Media Researchers’ Perceptions of Factors Affecting Their Research Problem Selection," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.
    16. Bekmezci, Mustafa & Sürücü, Lütfi, 2025. "Determination of validity, reliability and sample size in qualitative research," OSF Preprints 52jbm_v1, Center for Open Science.
    17. Wesley Darling & Jacquelyn Broader & Adam Cohen & Susan Shaheen, 2023. "Going My Way? Understanding Curb Management and Incentive Policies to Increase Pooling Service Use and Public Transit Linkages in the San Francisco Bay Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-20, September.
    18. Michal Beňo, 2023. "Re-Establishing Home and Work Boundaries by Pseudo-Commuting Whilst Working from Home," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2023(4), pages 123-134.
    19. Nura Abdel-Rahman & Orly Manor & Liora Valinsky & Ofri Mosenzon & Ronit Calderon-Margalit & Sveta Roberman, 2022. "What is important for people with type 2 diabetes? A focus group study to identify relevant aspects for Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in diabetes care," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(11), pages 1-14, November.
    20. Trisha Dalapati & Emily J Alway & Sneha Mantri & Phillip Mitchell & Ian A George & Samantha Kaplan & Kathryn M Andolsek & J Matthew Velkey & Jennifer Lawson & Andrew J Muzyk, 2024. "Development of a curricular thread to foster medical students’ critical reflection and promote action on climate change, health, and equity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(5), pages 1-14, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:7:p:972-:d:1683552. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.