Using Social and Mobile Media to Normalize HIV Testing

Among Teens

Ruth S. Buzi, LCSW, Ph.D. Peggy B. Smith, MA, Ph.D. Baylor College of Medicine

Teen Health Clinic

The Problem About 1 in 4 (26%) of all new HIV infections

are among youth ages 13 to 24 years. About 4 in 5 of these infections occur in males.

Nearly 60% of new infections in youth occur in African Americans, about 20% in Hispanics/Latinos, and about 20% in whites.

About 60% of youth with HIV do not know they are infected. These youth can also unknowingly pass HIV to others.

Young men are far more likely than young women to have HIV and are also less likely to get tested.

Barriers for HIV Testing Do not perceive themselves to be at risk for HIV exposure

Believe parental consent is required for HIV testing

Concerned about the breach of confidentiality

Stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/ AIDS

The Possible Solution

Technology use among youth is very common

Web-based technology reach youth where they are

Social and Mobile technologies can be effective in normalizing HIV testing and may reduce the stigma associated with testing

Increase Testing

A comprehensive website provides science-based information on HIV and sites for testing

http://www.teenhealthclinic.org/ Ask Tiff, an avatar, allows teens to submit

queries-most are related to cost, parental consent and confidentiality

Text Messages

Updates on HIV are sent weekly (160 characters)

Examples: Today is National Women & Girls

HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Know your status, stay safe & have a great spring break

February 7, 2013 is National Black HIV/AIDS. Time to get tested and involved in fighting HIV in our community

Social Network Sites-Potential Interaction http://www.facebook.com/pages/Baylor-

Teen-Health-Clinic/20063283236?ref=ts

https://twitter.com/BCMTeenClinic http://www.myspace.com/438103665

Webisodes

In collaboration with the University of

Houston, Webisodes were produced to communicate messages about HIV/STD prevention.

Caught Off Guard

Online Outreach

Established presence on Mingle2 and OkCupid sites to invite individuals for testing

Teens’ Input

Teens provided input on texts (out of 75): ◦ The information can keep me from catching

any STD or help prevent the spread of a STD. ◦ They are very useful. I take them into

consideration and share them with my family and friends and use it in my everyday life. ◦ They are very interesting and provide much

awareness! With people being so tied into cell phones text messages are a great tool.

Behavior/Attitude Change-Online Survey Out of the 349 participants, 228 answered the question, which is as follows; “How

likely will you be to change your attitudes/ actions regarding safe sex after looking at this website?” Out of this group, 66.7% answered “very likely”, 25.4% answered “undecided” and 7.9% answered “very unlikely”.

Next Steps

Renew Website with input from clients Add a feature “Ask Ty” to encourage

questions from males Add new social media sites In the process of working on new

Webisodes Continue to evaluate impact of initiatives

Contact

Ruth Buzi, Ph.D., rbuzi@bcm.edu Peggy Smith, Ph.D., peggys@bcm.edu

References

http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/HIVAmongYouth/index.html