December 7, 2010

HIV prevention efforts go mobile

by Matt Baume

AIDS advocacy organizations are increasingly building high-tech online tools to keep safer sex at the top of San Franciscans' minds.
Among those new tools are a sex-education app for the iPhone and iPad, condom-locators, a conference on youth media and sexual health, and a revamped website for the San Francisco AIDS foundation.
The digital emphasis coincides with two new studies in the journal AIDS and Behavior that indicate a need for more online outreach.
One study found that men who pursue "online partnerships" are more likely to engage in unsafe sex. Although Internet hookups themselves do not necessarily cause riskier behavior, the authors concluded, online usage may be a "marker" of a tendency towards heightened risk-taking.

October 4, 2010

Can Mobile Phones Revolutionize the Clinical Care of People Living with AIDS In Resource Poor Settings?

By Setor Kunutsor
Institute of Health Sciences, Leeds University
The World Health Organization has urged the use of cell phones and other mobile communication technology to improve the quality of health care delivered in resource-poor countries. 
Mobile phones are one of the most promising emerging health tools, with the potential to address many of the challenges facing access to care and adherence to antiretroviral treatment among people living with HIV/AIDS in these settings. Africa has the highest rate of mobile phone uptake among developing regions and there is rapid continuous expansion of cell phone use across all socio-demographic groups. Our research examined the potential for mobile phones to enhance HIV/AIDS care in southern Africa.