Tweeting about TestingHow under-served urban adolescents use social
media to communicate about sexual health
Zai DivechaYale School of Public Health
Planned Parenthood of Southern New England
The Inspiration...
Background• Strengths of GYT-Foursquare campaign:
– Encourages people to talk about STI testing– Influences norms and stigmas
• Questions:– What is the best way to reach teens? – How do teens talk about sex through social media?– Are they willing to share and receive sexual health info
through social media?
Study Design• 94 participants recruited from CT OB/GYN
clinics as part of a larger study– Young couples who recently had a baby– Females 14-21, males 14+
• Computerized interview 6-12 ms postpartum– Cell phone and social media usage– Communication with friends about sexual health– Willingness to participate in social media-based
sexual health programs
Why this Population?• Young urban minority adults at increased risk
for STIs and HIV• Young parents at high risk for STIs during
pregnancy and postpartum period– 29% of pregnant and parenting teens get an STI– Teen mothers twice as likely to get an STI as
compared to nulliparous sexually active peers
DemographicsSex Female 53% Male 47%Race Black 46% Latino 38% White 13% Other 3%Age (M ± SD) 20 ± 3.4Household income (M) $14,000 Own a cell phone 93%
How do you use your cell phone on a weekly basis? (n = 87)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Calls SMS MMS Internet Email Apps GPS
Which social networks do you use?(n = 94)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Facebook MySpace Twitter FacebookPlaces
Google Buzz GoogleLatitude
None
p < .01 for all comparisons
Which sexual health topics do you discuss with friends?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
HIV/AIDS STIs Condoms Birth control STI testing Hooking up CheatingPercent who discuss topic "often" or "very often"
Close friendsCasual friends
When you talk with your friends about sexual health, how do those conversations happen?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
In person Phone Text (SMS) Instantmessage
Email Socialmedia:private
message
Socialmedia: poston friend's
profile
Socialmedia:
public statusupdate
Close friendsCasual friends
Willingness to share sexual health information through social media (n=94)
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Text sexual health tips tofriends
Share sexual health tipsover social media
Use geolocation app to"check in" at STI test
center
Share over social mediathat I had STI test
Percent who "agree" or "strongly agree"
Preferred technologies for receiving sexual health tips (n = 94)
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Text Email Social media:public status
update
Social media:post on own
profile
Social media:private message
Do not want toreceive tips
Conclusions• Cell phones
– Everyone has one; smartphones fairly common• Social media
– Facebook– No geolocation
• Communication about sexual health– More often with close friends than casual friends– Prefer in-person, phone, and text; not social media
• Participation in social media-based programs– Not keen on sharing sexual health info via social media– Not keen on receiving sexual health info via social media– Prefer receiving info via text message and email
Implications• Urban minority youth use smartphones and social
media • Privacy matters• If we do use social media, we need to be strategic:
– Platform– Goals– Structure of program
• Importance of staying current
Thank You!• Trace Kershaw, Ph.D.
– PARTNRS Principal Investigator– Thesis advisor
• Anna Arnold, MPH– PARTNRS Project Coordinator
• Yale School of Public Health
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