A Mobile Health Tool for Peer Support of Individuals Reentering Communities After Incarceration
Authors
Fuller, Julia M.Ho, Y. Xian
Morse, Robert
Fix, Gemmae
Cutrona, Sarah L.
Gaziano, Thomas
Connolly, Samantha L.
Hass, Robert
Jackson, Jonathan
McInnes, D. Keith
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Population and Quantitative Health SciencesDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2021-05-01Keywords
Returning citizensreentry
incarceration
cardiovascular health
peer support programs
human-centered design
digital health
mobile health
mHealth
action planning
Cardiovascular Diseases
Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Health Services Administration
Infectious Disease
Telemedicine
Virus Diseases
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Individuals just released from prison, or returning citizens (RCs), face high mortality rates during the reentry period, with cardiovascular disease (CVD) being a leading cause. Peer mentors can support RCs' health, but they traditionally work in person, which may not always be feasible, particularly during pandemic outbreaks such as COVID-19. We used human-centered design to build a prototype of RCPeer, a web/mobile application (app) to support peer-led reentry efforts through CVD risk screening, action planning, linkage to resources addressing reintegration needs (e.g., housing, transportation), and goal-setting. We assessed feasibility, acceptability, and usability of RCPeer using mixed-methods. System Usability Scale (SUS) scores were 68 for peers and 66 for RCs, indicating good usability. Qualitative data suggests that RCPeer can support reentry tasks through RCs and peers sharing data, strengthen RC-peer relationships, and facilitate RCs meeting their goals. Future work is needed to enhance usability for RCs with limited technology experience.Source
Fuller, J.M., Ho, Y.X., Morse, R., Fix, G., Cutrona, S.L., Gaziano, T., Connolly, S.L., Hass, R., Jackson, J., Keith Mcinnes, D. A mobile health tool for peer support of individuals reentering communities after incarceration. (2021) Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 32 (2), pp. 148-165. doi:10.1353/hpu.2021.0055.
DOI
10.1353/hpu.2021.0055Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/27464PubMed ID
35574220ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1353/hpu.2021.0055
Scopus Count
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