UNC researchers explore an app to inform partners, friends of STD risk anonymously

Imagine a Facebook app that could tell you one of your friends has a sexually transmitted disease and that you are at risk.

A team of UNC researchers has determined that such an app would be an effective avenue for inhibiting the spread of STDs, given the strong link between social and recreational habits.

“Looking at the data, sexual networks and social networks fit together extremely well,” said Dr. Peter Leone, who has been researching the relationships between friend groups and individual habits.

Leone, the medical director of the N.C. HIV/STD Prevention and Control Branch, said educating people about these diseases in new ways is being thoroughly explored.

“People tend to hang with folks who engage in similar interests and activities,” he said.

Even though they may differ in gender or race, groups of friends could have sexual partners in common or engage in similar behavior, he said.

“Social networks quantify people that are alike that we wouldn’t be able to capture in other demographics,” Leone said.

“We want to get to folks that are at a higher risk and don’t know it,” he said.

The researchers hope to use websites and social networking sites like Facebook to educate people about STDs.

“The ultimate goal here is reducing the number of newly infected individuals with STDs and HIV,” Leone said. “The traditional way of doing that isn’t working well.”

Dr. Lisa Hightow-Weidman is working on a website or application to offer resources on STDs to young people in a new way.

“We need to go to where they are and engage them,” she said. “We’re competing with Angry Birds and Pandora.”

Hightow-Weidman said researchers have discussed ideas for an application on Facebook or smartphones that could be used to confidentially tell a group of friends they might be at risk.

Services already exist to send messages online or by text to anonymously alert a friend that someone has an STD, but not on Facebook, she said.

“(STDs) do happen in social networks. It makes sense that Facebook could be used for prevention to map out those groups,” said Sara Stahlman, health educator for Campus Health Services.

Leone said he hopes the technology produced as a result of their research will allow people to buy STD testing kits online, as students might be more likely to get tested if they can order tests privately whenever they want.

“Part of what we see is that getting tested isn’t convenient. Sites may not be available or open whenever they want,” Hightow-Weidman said.

Stahlman said students should get STD tests once a year or whenever they switch sexual partners.

“What I’m envisioning is people coming to a site or an app to get a test, notify partners and hook them up with care,” Leone said.

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