Posts
The website inSPOTLA.org, a Los Angeles STD partner
notification service chiefly targeting men who have sex with men (MSM), is the
subject of the current study. Launched in 2005, the site has had more than
400,000 visitors, and more than 50,000 e-mail postcards have been sent from it.
But only limited quantitative data have been collected concerning the use of
the site “for actual partner notification,” observed the authors, who undertook
this study to investigate MSM’s awareness and use of the service, as well as
the effect of an advertising campaign.
The researchers accessed data from two cross-sectional
surveys using time-location samples; the baseline survey was conducted in 2007,
with follow-up in 2009. The ad campaign took place between the two surveys, in
2008.
No statistically different awareness of inSPOTLA was noted
between baseline (15.8 percent) and follow-up (14.4 percent). Also, no
significant difference was seen in reported use of the site for partner
notification (less than 2 percent in both surveys).
In addition to the two surveys, a high-volume sexual health
clinic serving Los Angeles MSM collected information on patients’ reasons for
visiting, including being referred through inSPOTLA, from all clients from 2007
through 2009. In these three years, two patients indicated their visit was
prompted by an inSPOTLA e-mail postcard.
“While website user statistics seemed to indicate an
impressive level of use, our evaluation of inSPOTLA found very limited evidence
of program effectiveness for the purpose of actual partner notification among
MSM in Los Angeles County,” the team concluded.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the
quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make
healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The
Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE
REMAIN STRONG!
