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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

A qualitative evaluation of a Nudgeathon event for the co-design of sexual health campaign images targeting overseas-born men who have sex with men

Julien Tran https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3139-7090 A B * , Ivo Vlaev C , Daniel Read C , Kelly Ann Schmidtke D , Eric P. F. Chow https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1766-0657 A B E , David Lee B , James Tapa B and Jason J. Ong https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5784-7403 A B F
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

B Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

C Warwick Business School, Coventry, UK.

D University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy, St Louis, MO, USA.

E Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

F London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London, UK.

* Correspondence to: phuc.tran@monash.edu

Handling Editor: Jami Leichliter

Sexual Health 20(2) 158-163 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH22125
Submitted: 3 August 2022  Accepted: 2 March 2023   Published: 23 March 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background: Additional approaches to HIV prevention and management, such as Nudgeathons, are required to increase access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among overseas-born men who have sex with men (MSM).

Methods: In September 2021, we conducted a 4-h online Nudgeathon, wherein four teams co-designed behaviourally informed adverts to improve PrEP access and uptake for overseas-born MSM. After the Nudgeathon, eight of 17 invited Nudgeathon attendees were interviewed about their experience. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of interview data to highlight participants’ experiences of the co-design process.

Results: We identified three major themes: (1) what worked well; (2) group dynamics; and (3) improvement and future directions. The Nudgeathon about PrEP was a positive learning experience, with valuable contributions and overall satisfaction with the end-products. The online format was perceived as less costly than if the Nudgeathon was hosted in person, and suitable for participants from different geographical regions. In-person Nudgeathons with international attendees would require costs for flights, accommodation, function room hire and catering. Within groups, sharing personal experiences essential to co-designing concepts. However, less information on how to create nudges and more information before the Nudgeathon was preferred.

Conclusion: Our evaluation finds that Nudgeathons are fast and efficient in developing potential solutions to complex issues related to HIV prevention.

Keywords: Australia, behavioural economics, co-design, evaluation, HIV, MSM, nudge, pre-exposure prophylaxis, United Kingdom.


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