New York State Department of Health: Breaking Ground in New Media Response to HIV and STIs

Content From: Michelle Samplin-Salgado, Account Director, Prochilo HealthPublished: December 21, 20102 min read

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AIDS Institute Department of Health Social Media Forum staff

Earlier this month, we participated in the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute's forum, Social Media: Going Viral Against HIV and STIsExit Disclaimer . The room was filled with nearly 300 public health colleagues from across New York who were there to learn and share how they use social media in response to HIV.

The day started with a welcome by two of the AIDS Institute leaders pioneering social media responses to HIV, Dr. Cheryl Smith, Associate Medical Director and Humberto Cruz, Director. New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) Commissioner, Dr. Richard Daines, then highlighted the importance of reaching people through new media platforms. Using the flu epidemic as an example, he shared the NYS DOH's flu prevention campaign example where a video was developedExit Disclaimer, and viewers were encouraged to share the message through their social networking sites.

Miguel Gomez, Director of HIV.gov and Social Media University, Global (SMUG)Exit Disclaimer entertained the crowd with examples of how new media tools enable patients to connect and share their stories and experiences at the Mayo Clinic. Susannah FoxExit Disclaimer from the Pew Internet & American Life ProjectExit Disclaimer presented findings about social media and health information seeking. She also wrote a nice recap blog post about the conferenceExit Disclaimer.

We also heard from Lily Williamson of MTV Networks, about MTV's campaign, A Thin LineExit Disclaimer, that aims to understand and address safety and security online. And Christine Quinn of the New York City Council presented on the I Talk BecauseExit Disclaimer campaign. Eight programs highlighted their hands-on new media and HIV or STI programs in the city, ranging from HIV testing campaigns among youth to audio podcasts to educate New York police about needle and syringe laws and safety.

Afternoon sessions allowed for more in-depth dialogue about social networking: blogs and microblogs, multimedia filesharing, and mobile applications with short presentations by programs across the country. In the closing session, "Implementing a Social Media Campaign", Bradley Jobling, Social Media Manager for the Columbia University Medical Center Department of SurgeryExit Disclaimer, shared his experience using social media to increase attendance at events and online fundraising. Diane Brodalski, contractor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC STD campaign used available analytics and STD clinic testing data to evaluate their efforts.

We left the conference inspired by program examples in New York and beyond, and with several resources to draw upon--from panelists, to conference participants, to online social media tools to develop or refine organizations' social media strategy in response to HIV. Here is a brief video clip of interviews with three of the many speakers:


You can watch archived webcastsExit Disclaimer of the conference on their site.