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Communities and Technology: Enhancements in HIV-Prevention Research and Practice Among Adolescents and Young Adults

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Innovations in HIV Prevention Research and Practice through Community Engagement

Abstract

The burden of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is disproportionaly high for adolescents and young adults. Adolescents and young people report high rates of sexual activity, multiple sexual partners, and inconsistent condom use. The Internet and, more specifically, online social networks, are beginning to be harnessed as potentially effective and culturally congruent communication channels to reach and engage some communities and populations in HIV-prevention interventions. Rates of social media use tend to be high among adolescents and young adults, in particular; they create, share, and exchange information, ideas, and perspectives in “virtual communities,” including Facebook, MySpace, Ning, FourSquare, Second Life, Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram. In this chapter, we consider virtual communities and the opportunities that exist for using social media to promote HIV prevention. We then describe the processes of engagement and interaction with members of virtual communities through our own experiences developing, implementing, and evaluating our Just/Us Facebook page intervention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community and Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Denver, 13001 E. 17th Place, B119, Bldg 500, Room E3345A, 80045, Aurora, CO, USA

    Sheana Bull PhD, MPH

  2. Department of Family Medicine and Colorado Area Health Education Center, University of Colorado, Education II South, Room 5108, 80045, Aurora, CO, USA

    Tarik Walker MD, MPH

  3. Youth Tech Health (YTH), 409 13th Street, 14th Floor, 94612-2607, Oakland, CA, USA

    Deb Levine MA

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  1. Sheana Bull PhD, MPH
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  2. Tarik Walker MD, MPH
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  3. Deb Levine MA
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Correspondence to Sheana Bull PhD, MPH .

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  1. Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

    Scott D. Rhodes

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Bull, S., Walker, T., Levine, D. (2014). Communities and Technology: Enhancements in HIV-Prevention Research and Practice Among Adolescents and Young Adults. In: Rhodes, S. (eds) Innovations in HIV Prevention Research and Practice through Community Engagement. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0900-1_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0900-1_9

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