Using digital communication to combat stigma and test at-risk populations in the fight against HIV in Harris County and the City of Houston, Texas

Background: Preventing the transmission of HIV in unincorporated Harris County remains a top priority. Despite the current efforts, the number of HIV positive cases reported in unincorporated zip codes remain high. For example, zip code 77036 had the highest cases with 32 HIV cases reported in 2017, zip code 77090 reported 27 cases. This presentation will discuss the unique outreach model that targets high-risk individuals by providing a non-judgmental approach to testing

Program background: Stigma is a huge problem the spread of HIV in the South. In Houston, the Texas Education Code 28.004 states that sexual education is not required in high schools but if provided, the school must present abstinence as the preferred choice. This coupled with homophobia in ethnic minorities is a leading factor in higher rates of HIV infection in Black and Latinx MSMs. We have found that providing access to testing via a dedicated phone number, and a one-on-one communication between individuals and our staff provides the anonymity many individuals require when seeking HIV testing and education and prevention tools.The program is unique from other local organizations in that a person can text the number and they have the option to set up an appointment. Our staff will then travel to their home at their convenience.

Evaluation Methods and Results: Between 2017 and 2018 the program was rebranded and renamed to Testing123, a nod to the program’s model which has simplified the testing process to three steps: Text. Test. Know. Since then our program has increased 3 fold.

Conclusions: This eliminates the need for the individual to have transportation or visit their doctor. The service is constantly promoted on separate social media accounts designed for the program. The efforts have resulted in 4 positives (2 new, 2 previous) from the Testing123 number in 2018. From January 2018 to January 2019 our program has identified 14 positives: 10 new cases, and 4 previous positives

Implications for research and/or practice: Going mobile removes testing barriers