Blog.AIDS.gov

World's Largest Open Scientific Conference on HIV/AIDS Uses New Media Tools

2009-07-17T09:53:29-04:00

This weekend approximately 5,000 of the world’s leading scientists, clinicians, public health experts and community leaders will convene in Cape Town, South Africa, for the 5th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention (IAS 2009) to “examine the latest developments in HIV-related research, and to explore how scientific advances can—in very practical ways—inform the global response to HIV/AIDS.” The conference will run July 19-22, 2009.

Can’t be there in person? Participate virtually.

This year the conference organizers are using new media tools as an integral way to communicate updates before and during the conference. Through tweeting , a Facebook fan page , a Flickr group , and a live-blog , people all over the world can follow conference updates from the comfort of their own homes and offices. People can also sign up now for daily conference bulletins in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian or Romanian. They are also offering webcasts of certain sessions. On Monday they will be airing a webcast of a special session, U.S.-Global HIV Policy, Research and Implementation Under the New Administration , featuring U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby and NIAID Director Anthony Fauci.

My AIDS.gov team and I are following the conference updates with interest, and are eager to learn how the use of new media tools supported the objectives of the conference and expanded its reach. Stay tuned!

Community Voice Mail: Reaching the "Phoneless" with HIV Information

2009-07-14T16:09:11-04:00

By Michelle Samplin-Salgado

Last week we wrapped up our month-long series of blog posts for National HIV Testing Day. But there’s one more National HIV Testing Day collaboration story that we’ve been waiting to share with you. We’ve discussed how communities of color use new media (and that access to new media often has much more to do with the type of internet connection you have than any other factor); Community Voice Mail addresses another access issue—phonelessness. Forget broadband or dial-up for a minute. What if you didn’t have a phone?

Community Voice Mail (CVM) provides a free voice mail box to people in transition—connecting them to jobs, housing and hope. Nearly 41% of CVM clients are unemployed, 52% are homeless, 21% are disabled, and 11% are veterans. 40% of CVM clients report no income at all, and the average monthly income of a CVM client is $524.85. The people that benefit from CVM are some of the hardest to reach.

I first heard about CVM at a CDC-sponsored event about reaching the underserved. Steve Albertson, Director of New Initiatives for CVM, shared stories of people finding housing and jobs. And then he mentioned peanut products. CVM partnered with the CDC to share important health messages about the recent peanut-recall. That’s when it occurred to me that CVM could be an effective way for AIDS.gov to connect hard-to-reach people with HIV information and resources. In the months leading up to National HIV Testing Day, AIDS.gov collaborated with Steve and CVM, and received input from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs and the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs, to craft messages about the importance of getting an HIV test. The messages directed people to the CDCInfo hotline to find a testing site near them or, because CVM works with local agencies, provided information about where CVM clients could get an HIV test in their own community.

Two waves of National HIV Testing Day voice mails were sent to over 20,000 CVM clients and an additional 3,600 clients received an email message about HIV testing. They also sent broadcast voice and/or email messages to over 1,800 social service agencies in 45 cities. Over 40 CVM clients left us messages and gave feedback about the HIV Testing Day message. Steve told us, “overwhelmingly, our clients thanked us for the information, and many indicated they would share the number with others and call it themselves. Clients spoke about their fear of being tested, and how it was good to be reminded about how important it is to get tested. One client told us why she thought some people didn’t get tested (you can listen to her voice message here). Overall, I think voice messaging is a good way to deliver information about HIV testing; it’s personal and direct, but still very private.”

And CVM didn’t stop there. They blogged , used Twitter , Facebook and encouraged their sites across the country to use our badges and widgets. We even presented with CVM on a “mixed reality” panel at NetSquared’s N2Y4 Conference in San Jose and in Second Life . On the CVM blog they said, “It’s great to be able to communicate with so many people who are often hard to reach, and who can benefit greatly from this kind of information . . . we hope that a lot of people who might not otherwise think about it call the hotline, find a testing location, and get tested.”

Scot More, CVM director in Houston told us, “Until there is a cure for HIV, we will never end homelessness. Life is hard enough for anyone living on the streets, but even harder for those infected with HIV/AIDS. Knowing your status is not in the forefront of one’s mind who is in survival mode and does not know where their next meal is coming from. CVM has the unique way to reach these individuals thru Broadcast Messaging. This message and the information sent is personal, private and coming from a trusted source. I believe we are making a difference in many people’s lives.”

Community Voice Mail has fully embraced new media as a way to reach its supporters and to raise awareness not only about their services, but about the issue of “phonelessness.” It certainly inspired us to think creatively about reaching those in transition. Do you know of other services and programs connecting people who are hard to reach with HIV information? How can new media support programs whose clients may not have access to new media themselves? Let us know what you think!

National HIV Testing Day - It's about YOU

2009-07-07T17:21:00-04:00

By Deb LeBel

Saturday, June 27th was National HIV Testing Day (NHTD). For the past month, we've focused on real stories by real people about what taking an HIV test meant to them, through our “I Know, I Took the Test ” blog series and widget. We highlighted real personal HIV testing stories collected by organizations such as The Positive Project, Southern AIDS Living Quilt, National Association of People with AIDS, and POZ. We've been moved by the stories of people young and old, heterosexual and gay, male, female and transgender, people from different races and ethnicities, and people who have tested positive and negative for HIV. We've been inspired by their courage in offering their stories to all of us.

To help share these very powerful and personal messages, we employed new media tools such as Twitter , widgets, ecards, virtual worlds, enewsletters, and this blog. We worked with our CDC colleagues to create the widget that airs the stories from the “I Know. I Took the Test” blog series and then shared the widget with our Federal and community partners.

And after we planned and promoted and shared, we waited to see if these stories would spread. We hoped that people would hear them. And we hoped that people, just like you, would share your own stories.

And you did.

You shared the stories, the messages, and the importance of storytelling – of talking about what matters – by grabbing hold of what we offered. You capitalized on the new (and old) tools to get the word out. June 27th was an “old” – long-established – awareness day in a new era of communication and engagement, supported by new media tools.

Nearly 200 of you embedded the widget in your blogs and websites, resulting in over 8,463 views. You blogged and your readers told more stories and added their voices. You used Twitter and the #NHTD09 hashtag to tweet and re-tweet about National HIV Testing Day . You shared the link to HIVtest.org and told and encouraged your friends, family, and loved ones to text their ZIP code to KNOWIT (566948) to find a HIV testing center near them. Community Voice Mail broadcasted a voice mail to their clients about HIV testing and, in return, they heard from some of the hardest to reach people – those that do not have a phone – about why HIV tests matter to them.

We were heartened by PatientsLikeMe , who asked their community to share their HIV stories. And their community responded by saying things such as, “I think [testing] is probably the single most important thing a person can do for him/herself. The test will show if a person is infected, important knowledge no matter how it turns out.” And another wrote, “Getting tested for HIV is so important. The knowledge of knowing can make a difference as to how you will live your journey in life.”

As the AIDS.gov team's Awareness Days Director, I work year-round to help promote all the Awareness Days. On the day after, I always peek at the Day's preliminary results and achievements. The merger of “old” and new media strategies is one of the NHTD successes this year. The old strategy? Storytelling to communicate messages. The new strategy: new media tools applied to the need to increase HIV awareness. Let us all hope the results were “I Know. I Took the Test.”

I Know, I Took the Test: My HIV Testing Story

2009-06-30T17:53:38-04:00

By Miguel Gomez

Whitman-Walker Mobile HIV Testing Van

National HIV Testing Day was last Saturday. All month we've encouraged people to listen to real stories from real people about what taking an HIV test means to them. We used a widget to show short videos of both HIV+ and HIV- people sharing their stories about getting tested. And as we moved towards the end of this 4-week National HIV Testing Day blog series, we also listened to the President of the United States talking about his experience taking an HIV test.

I wanted to add to this conversation and share my experience as a gay man getting an HIV test last week.

I went to the Whitman Walker Clinic in Washington, DC and—with their permission—filmed my HIV test (I'll be posting the video later this week). The test was a quick, painless finger stick and 20 minutes of waiting for my test result. But even as someone who was already confident about knowing my HIV status and gets tested as part of my routine health check-ups, I felt anxious going into the test. While the waiting period was brief, each minute was heightened as I eagerly waited to get my results. But hearing the results meant to me that I can take control of my health. And it reinforced for me that what I am doing to protect myself is working.

Whitman-Walker Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center

I know that stigma is still an issue—even for those of us who address HIV and AIDS every day. In fact, when I told other people that I would be getting an HIV test and filming it, a long pause in the conversation almost always followed.

The videos, this blog, and our HIV story initiative, "I Know. I Took the Test." is an attempt to address that stigma – to provide stories of real people like you and me. Peer-to-peer sharing is a cornerstone of new media. Through this blog, we can continue to share our experiences and respond to HIV through new media channels.

I hope that our widgets, videos and blog this past National HIV Testing Day have inspired you to take an HIV test-- not just on this past Saturday, but year-round.

Looking for your local HIV testing center? Send a text message with your ZIP code to “KNOWIT” (566948) or visit www.hivtest.org

National HIV Testing Day - A message from President Obama

2009-06-27T15:43:48-04:00

by Miguel Gomez

Throughout the month of June, we've been asking people to share their HIV testing stories.

Today, in recognition of National HIV Testing Day, President Obama released a special video message about the importance of HIV testing and his own experiences getting an HIV test in Kenya.

The White House has used Twitter , YouTube and other new media tools to get the word out about this video and to spread the word about the importance of knowing your HIV status. We encourage you to watch the video and share it with your friends, co-workers and family.

To find a local HIV testing site, send a text message with your ZIP code to KNOWIT (566948) or visit www.HIVtest.org.