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Public health officials are
harnessing social media as a way to get information about HIV and other STDs to
a wired generation.
“That’s the way people connect and
communicate,” said Peter Carr, manager of the Minnesota Department of Health’s
STD and HIV Section. “We need to be in touch with that.”
Tools like YouTube and Google+ can
reach large audiences with testing, symptom, and prevention information.
Facebook and Twitter can be accessed by people without computers on their
mobile devices, noted Tina Hoff, a spokesperson for the Kaiser Family
Foundation.
“When something goes viral, you’ve
reached millions of people in a day,” said Simon Rosser, a University of
Minnesota researcher who presented research on social media at the 19th
International AIDS Conference.
While experts acknowledge the tools
cannot replace personal interaction with a doctor or trained educator, social
media can reach those who lack access to health care due to geographic,
financial or cultural barriers. Information sent through social media also can
be highly tailored.
The state health department is
accepting grant applications for community programs that use social media, and
the Minnesota AIDS Project already uses social media to promote the
availability of its safe-sex kits. CDC has a Spanish-language Twitter handle -
@CDCEspanol - with nearly 25,000 followers.
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.
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