INTERNET OUTREACH… The NEXT Frontier
Why internet Outreach?
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A "popular" practice that might be "fueling the spread" of STDs among MSM. Recent research suggests that MSM who meet partners on the Internet are more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors and have a history of STDs, including HIV. Increasingly, the Internet has become a focal point for more widespread communication linking potential sexual partners, a matter of concern for public health officials. In the summer of 1999, for example, health officials in San Francisco identified an outbreak of syphilis among gay men who had met their sexual partners in an Internet chat room. In the first three months of 2007, 260 new cases of syphilis were recorded in New York City, 96% of which were MSM - more than double the diagnoses in the same period last year, which had seen a leveling off in new infections. Around 70% of American syphilis-infected MSM are HIV+, and research suggests that two-thirds of men in New York infected with both syphilis and HIV engage in unsafe sex. In response to the trend, some local public and private health agencies have launched Internet-based prevention and treatment campaigns aimed at MSM who meet partners online. Over the past few years, agencies in several cities have begun placing banner advertisements on "sexually oriented" Web sites, hosting online discussions about disease prevention methods and making laboratory slips for STD testing available online for users to download, the Times reports. Although there is "little data" to help guide local agencies on "effective" prevention strategies, many health care workers say that Internet programs "can be particularly useful in reaching men in rural areas," young MSM and others who wish to remain anonymous.
The Internet & MSMs Adam4adam.com is a top 10,000 site that reaches over 303K U.S. monthly. The site is popular among a more educated, more youthful, African American, primarily male audience. The typical visitor visits Blackplanet, frequents planetout.com, and consults Yahoo! Astrology.
Why internet Outreach? •
The internet has quickly become the newest battlefield in the war against HIV/STDs. Many agencies are scrambling to get caught up and connected to a thriving community of people who they may have never known existed.
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Harlem United has been one of the more successful agencies with internet outreach. The crucial advantage to internet outreach is having a Mobile testing unit. The unit travels to key locations in the Harlem/South Bronx areas while peers conduct outreach to at risk populations. In the Mobile unit outreach workers equipped with laptops conducting the same type of outreach via the internet outreach in chat rooms. When they have successfully identified someone who is interested in being testing, the staff works with them on a location and time and the mobile unit then travels to that location. Most chatters, when offered the home delivery option are very surprised that more agencies are not doing this type of service. Harlem United’s outreach staff has participated in more the 50 hours of hands on training and evaluation with a large percent of the staff already certified by the State of New York for Pre & Post Test Counseling. These skills are then translated for use via the internet. Since september 2005, staff have collectively logged more then 1200 hours of virtual time, with online profiles being viewed over 3000 times and have conducted 93 individual risk reduction counseling sessions.
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The Approach •
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Internet profiles were created on various websites that men of color frequent and on AOL.COM that highlight the availability of Rapid Testing. The profile lists the screen names of our internet outreach peers allowing the user can contact a peer to ask questions or schedule an appointment to have the Mobil Testing Unit come to their area and administer Rapid Testing. During the first 2 months of the initial profile creation, internet users contacted peers asking about the OraQuick Advance technology as well as the reliability of the test. Questions about symptoms and incubation periods of HIV/STI were also concerns. Internet users who contacted peers were encouraged to ask as many clarifying questions about Rapid Testing and offered an opportunity to schedule appointments to be tested. The clients where “Pre-Test Counseled” via instant messengers and then offered an option to come in to the main office to be tested or have the mobile unit come to the area.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
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The internet’s landscape as well has how people connected to it has evolved from a simple home computer and dial up connection to high-speed broadband i.e. Cable/DSL as well connecting via personal cell phones. With these advancements in technology, any agency thinking of conducting any type of internet based intervention must understand how people are accessing the internet and be fully versed in the technology and lingo of each medium. Just like in chat rooms, cell phone with text messaging features have a language all their own. Harlem United has spend several months reviewing various technologies that will provide them with the most comprehensive tools that can be used to access the internet. From wireless network cards to Pocket PC’s, the internet has become a viable avenue Harlem United uses to help 1. Reach target populations that conventional street outreach and club outreach may miss, 2. Offer Rapid HIV testing to people who would not ordinarily access health care facilities and 3. Blaze a path that could be used by other agencies that want to move effective into Internet Based Interventions.