Game titles and Social Media Marketing May Help Counter HIV in At-Risk Gay Men
Photo: Jonathan Kitchen/Getty Images
Even after the top associated with the American
HELPS
situation,
HIV
remains a major problem among homosexual men, who happen to be diagnosed with the disease at a level „more than 40 instances regarding ladies and more than 44 times that of different men,“ as a
recent paper
during the
Journal of Healthcare Internet Analysis
explains. The paper, a study of varied tech-driven ways to reduce the price of
HIV
inside at-risk populace, factors toward the next generation of (ideally) efficient
interventions.
You will find several interesting possibilities in the pipeline, once the study’s
news release explains
:
One interactive internet site, Sexpulse, designed by health care professionals and computer experts to a target males who look for intimate associates on the web, successfully decreased risky sexual behaviors. Another website, Stick With It! (
KIU
), made use of games in reducing prices of unprotected anal sex. A third effort, an online game, aided mitigate shame thought by some young men that have gender with guys, though the lowering of high-risk sexual conduct was not statistically
considerable.
The challenge let me reveal less about
just what
message to deliver, because the basics of just how
HIV
and
HELPS
work are very well-publicized at this stage, than how to deliver it, since merely discussing that a conduct is risky is often perhaps not adequate adjust
it.
It’s important to explain that doesn’t only affect gay males; individuals practice a number of hazardous actions, from substance abuse to overeating to smoking cigarettes to having inactive lifestyles, despite having been told they can be dangerous. For this reason practical question of getting individuals to create more healthy choices is a huge part of worry for public-health scientists â designing an effective conduct intervention could be an extremely difficult action to take. (We’ll be posting an extended, a lot more in-depth post on this subject topic
soon.)
Several of the most of use approaches wisely target internet sites â peer force can affect you with techniques other is attractive frequently try not to. It was borne out in the
overview:
On social media sites such Twitter and Twitter, popular people can spread
HIV
-prevention emails for their pals and followers. The sharing of info about
HIV
screening join the dating app via this source on a social media did actually increase requests for
HIV
screening systems, one study found. Another study learned that using view leaders to disseminate
HIV
-prevention info via social media sites may increase assessment costs and bolster condom usage during anal sex with associates located
on the web.
It’s a very odd quirk of personal thinking that presentation the same kind of details in a somewhat various method can result in far better results. Luckily, experts are beginning to take advantage of
this.