Chemified: pilot testing of a mobile application for chemsexcare and support

The phenomenon of chemsex has gained scientific, clinical and societal attention in recent years. The
impact of chemsex is substantial, on individual (severe health problems, social and psychological
impact) as well as on societal level (i.e. increased risk of STI/HIV transmission and health care costs)
We initiated the CHEMIFIED-project to address the current gap in evidence-based support tools, to
mitigate, or where possible prevent, (potentially) problematic chemsex. The fastly developing field of
digital interventions in health care currently offers new solutions. GBMSM engaging in chemsex carry
their smartphone with them constantly and are most of the time online. The use of this digital pathway
to reach this group therefore seems well suited. In this project we will develop a just-in-time adaptive
intervention (JITAI) for people engaging in chemsex in Flanders. The purpose of so called JITAIs is to
provide the right support at the right time, using a digital pathway. After having identified the needs,
desirability and acceptability of a mobile intervention for the target population; the objective of our
proposed pump priming project is to finalize the preparatory project phase by completing the
development of the proof of concept, and pilot-test and adapt this first version. This information will
be used to focus a project application for the TBM-program of FWO. With this TBM-project we want
to assess the intervention's effectiveness in real life situations, further optimize the intervention and
take the first steps towards valorization of the JITAI.