2025/03/27 by Nyi Nyi Soe, Phyu Mon Latt, David Lee +6 · 1 voice
Immunology and Microbiology · Health Professions · Medicine · #Reproductive tract infections research #Mobile Health and mHealth Applications #Cervical Cancer and HPV Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaf193
openalex publication_date 2025/03/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Abstract Introduction The Melbourne Sexual Health Centre developed an artificial intelligence–powered app called AiSTI to help the public identify potential sexually transmitted infection (STI)-related anogenital lesions. This research sought to explore how individuals respond to the application's result displays and recommendations and how this might affect their health-seeking behavior. Methods From April to July 2024, participants completed an anonymous online survey, responding to hypothetical scenarios related to STI and non-STI conditions before and after viewing the randomized AiSTI application's result displays. They were asked how soon they would seek healthcare and how concerned they would be about each scenario. We reported descriptive statistics and used logistic regression analyses to explore associations between result displays and health-seeking behaviors. Results Our study included 512 participants (median age, 32 years; interquartile range: 25–40.5). Approximately 65% (n = 330) were assigned male at birth. For the STI scenario, intention to seek care within 24 hours increased from 75% to >90% after viewing probable STI diagnosis displays (P < .001). For the non-STI scenario, 46% initially intended to seek urgent care, but this was significantly reduced to below 25% after viewing non-STI result displays (P < .001). All result displays (concise text, full text, and meter) significantly increased the likelihood of seeking care within 24 hours for the STI scenario (adjusted odds ratios: 3.6–4.0, P < .001) and within a week for the non-STI scenario (adjusted odds ratios: 2.4–2.5, P < .001). Conclusions Our study found that digital health interventions with effective result displays could encourage urgent care-seeking for STI cases.