Sex::Tech: Using Technology to Reach Youth with HIV and Sexual Health Information

This week's post is by Jennie Anderson and Josie Halpern-Finnerty, AIDS.gov.

Last week at ISIS, Inc.'s Sex::Tech conference , we heard from leading voices in the field that we need to engage with our young audiences and use the tools they use to provide HIV and sexual health information.

As ISIS Executive Director Deb Levine said in her opening remarks, we must focus on being accessible, effective, relevant, innovative (in both our work and how we evaluate it), and ready to engage our communities in our work. A talented group of young African American students powerfully demonstrated this message in an interactive theater piece, BuckWorld One , which dealt with some of the factors affecting the choices young people make about sexual health.

Applying Lessons Learned from South by Southwest (SXSW) to HIV

We're changing our tone here at AIDS.gov, increasing our transparency and letting you know just who "we" are. This week's post is by Miguel Gomez, Director of AIDS.gov. Stay tuned for more...and let us know what you think!

Last week was the annual South by Southwest Interactive (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas. Our HHS colleague Andrew Wilson attended nearly 25 panels and presentations on new and social media. I sat down with Andrew to find out what he learned - what themes emerged and how they can be applied to our HIV work. Andrew told me:

“SXSW participants reinforced the message that new media tools are only part of the conversation and that collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and customer centricity equal effective communication.

Presentations highlighted the fact that new media offers tremendous opportunities for organizations of all sizes to engage stakeholders and their own staff members, to collaborate in creative ways, and to solicit feedback that will help improve the organization.”

National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

This week will mark the third National Native (American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian) HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NNHAAD). This year's theme is “A Celebration of Life.”

HIV affects thousands of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). AI/AN have the third highest rate of AIDS diagnoses in the United States, despite having the smallest population. AI/AN who are living with AIDS are likely to be younger than their non–AI/AN counterparts and have the shortest time between AIDS diagnosis and death.

We spoke to Captain Scott Giberson, HIV Principal Consultant with the Indian Health Service, and members of the National Native Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) Network (the group that organizes and implements NNHAAD) to learn more about the role of new media in responding to HIV in AI/AN communities.

Social Determinants of Health

This post covers a KEY ISSUE: this topic could impact the future of HIV/AIDS policy.

An emerging topic in public health promotion is the concept of “social determinants of health.” This concept focuses on the social, economic, and environmental factors that either contribute to an individual's risks of acquiring a disease or incurring poor health—or, conversely, protect an individual from those risks.

Using New Media to Reach Women and Girls for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Today, March 10, is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD). Women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the U.S., and most are infected with HIV through heterosexual contact. Women of color are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS.

To learn more about the day, the role of new media in responding to HIV among women and girls, and how YOU can take action today, we spoke to Vera Yakovchenko from the Office on Women's Health (OWH), the lead Federal agency for NWGHAAD.

“This day is a tool to promote discussion and information sharing, as well as the opportunity to provide the facts for women and girls on how to prevent infection and live with HIV and AIDS,” Vera told us. This year's theme is HIV is Right Here at Home: Get Tested. Know Your Status.