Harnessing the Power of Internet: E-Card Warns, "Get Checked"

by Rhonda J Mangus | January 24, 2009 at 06:08 am

267 views | 56 Recommendations | 21 comments

Public health officials have looked for ways to utilize the internet to conduct safe-sex education and prevent the spread of sexually transmitted disease, and inSpot, an on-line service that allows a sender to notify an individual that there is a possibility that the recipient may have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease (STD) is part of that strategy.

Currently aimed at gay men, inSpot was developed in 2004 by Internet Sexuality Information Services, with the support of health in officials in San Franciso.

“Notifying the person exposed to a sexually transmitted infection is the critical piece in preventing further spread,” said Dr. Susan Blank, New York City’s assistant health commissioner for sexually transmitted disease. “And as the reach of the Internet expands for use in finding instant sex partners, we’re using that technology as part of the solution.”
Along with eight other cities and three states, New York City has been working with inSPOT, the online partner notification system through which Steve, in San Francisco, received his syphilis e-card. (It is currently aimed at gay men but is expanding its audience to include heterosexuals, and plans to start a national site this year.)

The system was developed in 2004 by Internet Sexuality Information Services, a nonprofit agency in Oakland, Calif., with the support of health officials in San Francisco. Deb Levine, the agency’s executive director, said two factors in San Francisco led to the idea: the rise in Internet use among men who have sex with men, and an increase in syphilis among that group.

Research indicated that men with a sexually transmitted disease often failed to tell their casual sexual contacts about it.

“They did tell their partners, the people they saw every day, but they didn’t take the time to follow up with other people they were having sex with,” Ms. Levine said. “They said to us, ‘If there was an easy and convenient way to do it, we would.’ ”

In a parallel strategy, some public health departments have established online profiles on popular gay-oriented social network sites.

Through these profiles, self-identified health outreach workers are available to counsel men about safe sex and, when requested by members with a sexually transmitted disease, to electronically notify sexual partners they have met through the site.

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Paschen

at 06:16 on January 24th, 2009

Thank you for the post and info here Rhonda.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 06:42 on January 24th, 2009

You are very welcome, Paschen! Thank you for reading, commenting, and for the recommendation!

Jordan Yerman

at 06:21 on January 24th, 2009

Not sure how I feel about this: on one hand, anything that spreads information faster and more efficiently can be a good thing. On the other hand, such a message is somewhat personal, and, socially speaking, is not best handled with the equivalent of Evite.

(Also, if I received such an e-card, I'd probably think it was spam, not thinking that I'd be informed of possible infection in such a way)

Rhonda J Mangus

at 07:10 on January 24th, 2009

Hi, Jordan! Thank you for reading, commenting, and for the recommendation! I can understand how a lack of face-to-face communication could be cause for concern, but I think the benefits of this particular e-card notification outweigh it.

(Let's hope this type of notification is not considered SPAM:)!)

Blue Crush

at 07:04 on January 24th, 2009

I agree. Jordan. But I guess an ecard is better than no contact at all, however informal.

Jordan Yerman

at 07:06 on January 24th, 2009

I know a girl who once got a text message that simply read, "GET CHECKED".

(Turned out to be negative, but still)

Rhonda J Mangus

at 07:13 on January 24th, 2009

Blue Crush, thank you for reading, commenting, and for the recommendation! I agree that an e-card is better than no contact whatsoever.

generaldecay

at 07:09 on January 24th, 2009

Interesting piece, Rhonda. Like Jordan, I have mixed feelings about it really. I would fall through the floor, personally, if I received such a message!

Rhonda J Mangus

at 07:18 on January 24th, 2009

generaldecay, thank you very much for reading, commenting, and for the recommendation! I would probably fall through the floor too:)! Yet, I believe it is an important public service and would be more than grateful to be informed, even by e-card, if such were the case.

generaldecay

at 07:46 on January 24th, 2009

Yes, sexual health is paramount. I suppose the means of communicating about it is less important.

aelusive

at 07:44 on January 24th, 2009

People should not engage in these high risk lifestyle man. That would prevent most of these STD's me thinks. Seems way too dangerous. Besides, how can they make kids?

I mean, like with all the abortions and stuff, there wont be anyone left to reproduce.

generaldecay

at 07:45 on January 24th, 2009

The world is becoming increasingly over-populated. I don't think the human race is at any risk of extinction just yet.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 08:47 on January 24th, 2009

aelusive, thank you for reading, commenting, and for the recommendation! However, I would like to inform you that high-risk lifestyles are not exclusive to gay men, and I would recommend to anyone who believes otherwise to re-think his/her belief. Too, this story is not about reproduction:)! Thanks again!

Amy Judd

at 11:54 on January 24th, 2009

Gosh this would be a nightmare in your inbox wouldn't it? I think this is much better handled in person and really, if you aren't mature enough to tell someone this face to face, then you shouldn't be having sex in the first place.

However, the quicker to know the better, so that's at least something!

Rhonda J Mangus

at 07:14 on January 25th, 2009

Hi, Amy! Thank you for reading, commenting, and for the recommendation! I agree, it could be a nightmare! And, even though I also agree that the matter could be better addressed in an in-person conversation, I really don't think a failure to do so is due to a lack of maturity. In fact, I think it demonstrates an element of it. Also, it is probably for the reason of convenience more than anything else.

lefty_liberated

at 13:16 on January 24th, 2009

good stuff.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 07:14 on January 25th, 2009

lefty-liberated, thank you!

DLDog

at 13:51 on January 24th, 2009

Impersonal as heck but this is better than nothing.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 07:15 on January 25th, 2009

Thank you, DLDog! I think we all agree -- "...better than nothing."

duo

at 12:48 on January 25th, 2009

Thanks, Rhonda. I hope everyone who gets such a message considers it worthy of checking out, at least.

This reminds me of when I was a teenager and I used to play on the phone. My friends and I were the original "girls behaving badly," and we loved pulling hoaxes on folks. Boy, a site like inSpot would have been a playground for us. So if folks get bad news from that site, don't panic, but do test.

Mary