Texting is instant, unobtrusive and informative. And it’s why the City of Ottawa is using this highly popular form of communication to educate Ottawa’s young people about sexual health.
”Get Texted” is a sexual health text messaging program aimed at youth from 15 to 29. It’s run by Ottawa Public Health as a part of the Get Tested Why Not? program. Both programs are in response to a recent rise in cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea, the two most commonly sexually transmitted infections.
Youth can “Get Texted” by texting phrases such as “hivOTT,” to a number available on the Get Tested Why Not? website, which answers frequently asked sexual health questions. If “hivOTT” is texted, a warning about the infection’s transmission, a sexual health information number, and locations of HIV test sites are texted back instantly.
“The majority of young people now have their cell phones with them all the time or their smart phones and seem to access a lot of their information that way,” says Christiane Bouchard, a project officer at Ottawa Public Health. “They want to get the information and not necessarily talk to somebody and the text message allows for that.”
Get Texted provides information on another STI on the rise in Ottawa, HIV. Rates of HIV in men aged 20 to 29 are the highest in a decade, said Ottawa Public Health’s communicable disease report released last June.
HIV cases are up from 32 cases in 2010 to 46 in 2011, says Zhaida Uddin, an Ottawa Public Health official.
The additional 14 cases were all found in men who have sex with other men. The report states this demographic accounts for two-thirds of HIV infections in Ottawa.
Experts agree many factors contributed to the increase.
“If I had the answer to that I could solve all the issues in the world,” says Bouchard, adding that one factor is that some people are not using condoms. “Condoms are the best means of protection from HIV,” she says.
Another reason could be that the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS discourages people to get tested, says J.J. Koornstra, executive director of Bruce House, a supportive living facility for people living with HIV/AIDS.
The sexual health unit, where Bouchard works, launched the Get On It campaign in October, which specifically targets HIV-prevention among young, gay males. The campaign increases the amount of accessible HIV-testing centres at certain times throughout the year.
The spotlight is on HIV and AIDS initiatives across the city because Nov. 24 to Dec. 1 was Canadian AIDS Awareness week, which culminated with World AIDS Day on the final day.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first reported case of HIV.
Experts say they believe there needs to be a greater emphasis put on HIV awareness and prevention initiatives to stop the spread.
“I think everybody needs to do more. I think over the years it’s become more of a manageable disease and we’re not talking enough about it,” says Bouchard.
Get Texted adds to the conversation.