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SexINFO

The Idea:

What will change in the world because this Project happens?

This project aims to decrease transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, among urban youth by using mobile technology to convey critical sexual health information.

The SexINFO text messaging service was originally launched in 2006 by ISIS, Inc and the San Francisco Dept. of Public Health to address rising rates of gonorrhea and clamydia among African-American youth. Youth interviewed agreed that mobile phones were an easy, affordable and private way to reach them with sensitive health information.

By providing basic facts about STDs and HIV, along with clinic resources and testing sites, hours, and phone contact information, the project aims to decrease rates of STD transmission among at-risk urban youth.

What information will people interact with to make this change?

Currently, there are two parts to SexINFO. One is a static menu of Questions and Answers that can be accessed by texting SEXINFO to 61827 or 917.957.4280 (Metro PCS users). Common questions such as, "What should I do if the condom broke?" or “What if I'm not sure I want to have sex?" are answered in 160 character format with some basic information and two local clinic/testing sites. There is a companion website to the mobile platform at www.sextextsf.org.

The second part is a WAP site viewable from mobile phones at m.sextext.org

From usability testing, we realized that more and more youth are accessing the Internet via their mobile phones, and that youth are downloading ringtones and wallpaper to customize their user experience. We are looking to expand the service and make it more engaging to utilize the fact that mobile phones are becoming ubiquitous among urban youth at risk for STDs, including HIV.

What else have you done in this Cause Area?

Since 2001, the ISIS (Internet Sexuality Information Services) team has been developing and using Internet technologies to prevent disease transmission and enhance sexual well-being of individuals and communities. We have worked with clients to provide leadership, innovation, educational resources and research in online sexual health promotion. Our award-winning projects include SexINFO, inSPOT (an ecard partner notification service) and STDtest.org. We also launched the first ever conference focusing on technology, HIV prevention and youth in San Francisco in January 2008, attended by over 400 public health professionals, technologists, social service organizations, and youth.

Cause Area:
- Health
Cause Area Tags:
Previous Prize Tags:
- n2y3mashupchallenge
Project URL:
http://sextextsf.org/
Supporting Organization:
Internet Sexuality Information Services / Full Circle Fund
Supporting Organization URL:
http://www.isis-inc.org / http://www.fullcirclefund.org/technology.php
Financial support?:
Yes
City:
Oakland / SF
State/Region:
CA
Country:
USA

The Assessment

What kind of help or resources do you need to turn your project idea into a completed mashup?

We are looking for Designers, Developers and Idea Gurus who can help us transform our website & WAP site into a rich-media site that helps us connect with our target youth and provides them with useful, relevant information. Two of the ideas we are brainstorming are: a) Creating a content mashup, with a mix of various content types such as ringtones, sound clips, images, etc. that excite users to engage with the service. Our challenge is getting younger visitors excited about a message that isn't always popular - sexual health and STD's - so creating stickiness through content is key. Another idea is b) creating a data-integrated mashup, where we integrate geographic data such as health clinic location with user location via map. The integration of Google Maps could be enormously powerful in helping users see, and get TO, their local health clinics. The latest google maps in beta now allows users to see their own location without GPS (see below).