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With some questionable health advice being posted by your friends on Facebook, politicians arguing about the state of the American healthcare system and a new medical study being summarized in just a sentence or two on TV---that seems to contradict the study you heard summarized yesterday---it can be overwhelming to navigate the ever-changing landscape of health news.

To Your Health: Effectiveness of Sexual Health Ads on Promoting Safe Sex and Testing

Dating apps are becoming more popular and are frequently used for hook ups, which means getting together to have sex, with no relationship commitment. Health organizations are beginning to consider using dating apps to communicate and educate individuals on safe sex practices and where to get tested for Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

It is becoming more common for health organizations to use dating apps to get their message out to their target audience. The app Grindr reports to have over 1.5 million profiles and they estimate daily traffic to be around 250,000 users. With those numbers being so high, it is imperative that we start to have educational material about safe sex and testing centers on apps.

A 2018 article in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases stated the majority of people who are at a higher risk of contracting HIV were not tested when they last saw a healthcare provider because their provider didn’t offer and they didn’t ask. The communication on STD testing must be improved.

To help break down these stigmas and encourage open communication about sex, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends health organizations talk about HIV and take action. One effective way to do that is by having dating apps dedicate a section to health safety and give links to information about safe sex and testing centers that are easily accessible to all users.

Resources:

https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/hiv-stigma/index.html

https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/hiv-testing/index.html

https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/swipe-right-sexual-health

https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/best-gay-dating-apps

Chan, P. A., Crowley, C., Rose, J. S., Kershaw, T., Tributino, A., Montgomery, M. C., Almonte, A., Raifman, J., Patel, R., & Nunn, A. (2018). A Network Analysis of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Online Hookup Sites Among Men Who Have Sex With Men. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 45(7), 462–468.https://doi.org/10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000784

Content for this segment was created by Jordan Probst  as part of a project for SC301: Foundations of Health Communication, taught by Dr. Clubbs. Jordan is a health communication major who will graduate after completing his internship with OASIS Florida this summer. He hopes to continue to work in the non-profit setting by educating individuals on health disparities.

Recorded at home with Eli Hildebrand Clubbs engineering; edited at KRCU Studios by Dan Woods.

 

Dr. Brooke Hildebrand Clubbs is an assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, Middle & Secondary Education. She writes for special publications of The Southeast Missourian and is a certified Community Health Worker.
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