Video gaming and Social Networking May Help Stop HIV in At-Risk Gay Guys

Long after the peak of the United states AIDS situation, HIV still is a major problem among gay males, that are identified as having the condition at a rate “more than 40 instances compared to women and most 44 occasions compared to other men,” as a current paper in Diary of Medical Online Analysis details. The paper, a survey of numerous tech-driven methods to reduce steadily the rate of HIV within at-risk populace, things toward the next generation of (hopefully) effective interventions.

There are lots of fascinating choices in the pipeline, just like the research’s pr release explains :

One entertaining internet site, Sexpulse, crafted by medical researchers and pc scientists to a target males who look for sexual partners on the internet, effectively lowered high-risk sexual actions. Another site, Stick With It! ( KIU ), made use of video games in reducing prices of exposed anal sex. A third effort, a downloadable video game, helped mitigate shame felt by some teenagers who’ve intercourse with males, although the decline in dangerous intimate behavior wasn’t statistically considerable.

The task listed here is significantly less about exactly what message to produce, considering that the basics of just how HIV and HELPS work are fairly well-publicized now, than how exactly to deliver it, since simply outlining that a behavior is actually unsafe is frequently not adequate to change it.

It’s important to suggest that doesn’t merely apply to gay guys; men and women take part in a variety of hazardous habits, from drug abuse to overeating to cigarette smoking to presenting inactive lifestyles, despite being informed they can be dangerous. That’s why the question of ways to get men and women to create healthier choices is actually an enormous area of worry for public-health scientists — creating a fruitful conduct input could be an extremely tricky move to make. (we’re going to end up being publishing a longer, much more in-depth post on this subject quickly.)

A few of the most of good use strategies wisely target social networking sites â€” peer stress can impact us in many ways other appeals typically cannot. This was borne out in the analysis:

On social media sites particularly Facebook and Twitter, well-known people can distribute HIV -prevention messages on their buddies and followers. The sharing of info about HIV screening join the dating app via this source on a social network appeared to boost requests for HIV evaluating systems, one learn found. Another learn discovered that making use of viewpoint frontrunners to disseminate HIV -prevention info via social networks may boost testing prices and bolster condom use during rectal intercourse with associates found on the web.

It’s a rather odd quirk of human thinking that packaging the same old information in a slightly different means can lead to a lot better outcomes. Luckily for us, specialists are starting to benefit from this.