Avatars using computer/smartphone mediated communication and social networking in prevention of sexually transmitted diseases among North-Norwegian youngsters
Abstract Background Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), especially the Chlamydia trachomatis bacterial infection, a common cause of infertility, are highly prevalent in developed countries, and a worrying problem in North Norway, where the incidence of chlamydia twice the Norwegian average. Sevent...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:48ec717d0dba4c829c440fa7a231289d 2023-05-15T16:13:46+02:00 Avatars using computer/smartphone mediated communication and social networking in prevention of sexually transmitted diseases among North-Norwegian youngsters Gabarron Elia Serrano J Wynn Rolf Armayones Manuel 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6947-12-120 https://doaj.org/article/48ec717d0dba4c829c440fa7a231289d EN eng BMC http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6947/12/120 https://doaj.org/toc/1472-6947 doi:10.1186/1472-6947-12-120 1472-6947 https://doaj.org/article/48ec717d0dba4c829c440fa7a231289d BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, Vol 12, Iss 1, p 120 (2012) Sexually transmitted diseases Chlamydia Health information technologies Internet Health education Social network Social media Young adult Adolescent Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics R858-859.7 article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6947-12-120 2022-12-30T22:50:22Z Abstract Background Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), especially the Chlamydia trachomatis bacterial infection, a common cause of infertility, are highly prevalent in developed countries, and a worrying problem in North Norway, where the incidence of chlamydia twice the Norwegian average. Seventy percent of reported chlamydia cases are found in people below 25 years of age, and although its spread could be controlled with proper prevention, young people are more aware of the risks of unwanted pregnancy than their risk of acquiring a STD. Information and Communication Technologies, including, the Internet, social media and/or smartphones, should be valued for sexual health promotion for their potential to engage young audiences. And in these media, avatars guarantee anonymity to users when handling sensitive information. The main objective of this project is to achieve that North Norwegian youngsters become more aware of STDs through the use of popular technologies among young people. Methods A Virtual Clinic for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (VCSTD) will be developed. The VCSTD will provide early guidance and reliable information sources concerning reproductive health, delivered in a novel and innovative way to the younger population. The VCSTD consists of an “avatar” supported intervention in a serious gaming and e-learning environment, which will bypass direct physical access (in person) to reliable medical information, as well as allowing the youngsters to share that information in social media, and thus helping the VCSTD to be disseminated to more people. Data analyses will be conducted on publically available health data relevant to STDs in Troms and Finnmark, like the absolute number of chlamydia tests, the amount of emergency contraception medication sold, and the number of abortions. Also, usage data of the system and experiences of usefulness will be explored through participants’ voluntary responses to a feedback form available in the VCSTD. Discussion This study will examine the usefulness of an ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Finnmark North Norway Finnmark Troms Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Norway BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 12 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Sexually transmitted diseases Chlamydia Health information technologies Internet Health education Social network Social media Young adult Adolescent Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics R858-859.7 |
spellingShingle |
Sexually transmitted diseases Chlamydia Health information technologies Internet Health education Social network Social media Young adult Adolescent Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics R858-859.7 Gabarron Elia Serrano J Wynn Rolf Armayones Manuel Avatars using computer/smartphone mediated communication and social networking in prevention of sexually transmitted diseases among North-Norwegian youngsters |
topic_facet |
Sexually transmitted diseases Chlamydia Health information technologies Internet Health education Social network Social media Young adult Adolescent Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics R858-859.7 |
description |
Abstract Background Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), especially the Chlamydia trachomatis bacterial infection, a common cause of infertility, are highly prevalent in developed countries, and a worrying problem in North Norway, where the incidence of chlamydia twice the Norwegian average. Seventy percent of reported chlamydia cases are found in people below 25 years of age, and although its spread could be controlled with proper prevention, young people are more aware of the risks of unwanted pregnancy than their risk of acquiring a STD. Information and Communication Technologies, including, the Internet, social media and/or smartphones, should be valued for sexual health promotion for their potential to engage young audiences. And in these media, avatars guarantee anonymity to users when handling sensitive information. The main objective of this project is to achieve that North Norwegian youngsters become more aware of STDs through the use of popular technologies among young people. Methods A Virtual Clinic for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (VCSTD) will be developed. The VCSTD will provide early guidance and reliable information sources concerning reproductive health, delivered in a novel and innovative way to the younger population. The VCSTD consists of an “avatar” supported intervention in a serious gaming and e-learning environment, which will bypass direct physical access (in person) to reliable medical information, as well as allowing the youngsters to share that information in social media, and thus helping the VCSTD to be disseminated to more people. Data analyses will be conducted on publically available health data relevant to STDs in Troms and Finnmark, like the absolute number of chlamydia tests, the amount of emergency contraception medication sold, and the number of abortions. Also, usage data of the system and experiences of usefulness will be explored through participants’ voluntary responses to a feedback form available in the VCSTD. Discussion This study will examine the usefulness of an ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gabarron Elia Serrano J Wynn Rolf Armayones Manuel |
author_facet |
Gabarron Elia Serrano J Wynn Rolf Armayones Manuel |
author_sort |
Gabarron Elia |
title |
Avatars using computer/smartphone mediated communication and social networking in prevention of sexually transmitted diseases among North-Norwegian youngsters |
title_short |
Avatars using computer/smartphone mediated communication and social networking in prevention of sexually transmitted diseases among North-Norwegian youngsters |
title_full |
Avatars using computer/smartphone mediated communication and social networking in prevention of sexually transmitted diseases among North-Norwegian youngsters |
title_fullStr |
Avatars using computer/smartphone mediated communication and social networking in prevention of sexually transmitted diseases among North-Norwegian youngsters |
title_full_unstemmed |
Avatars using computer/smartphone mediated communication and social networking in prevention of sexually transmitted diseases among North-Norwegian youngsters |
title_sort |
avatars using computer/smartphone mediated communication and social networking in prevention of sexually transmitted diseases among north-norwegian youngsters |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6947-12-120 https://doaj.org/article/48ec717d0dba4c829c440fa7a231289d |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Finnmark North Norway Finnmark Troms |
genre_facet |
Finnmark North Norway Finnmark Troms |
op_source |
BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, Vol 12, Iss 1, p 120 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6947/12/120 https://doaj.org/toc/1472-6947 doi:10.1186/1472-6947-12-120 1472-6947 https://doaj.org/article/48ec717d0dba4c829c440fa7a231289d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6947-12-120 |
container_title |
BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1765999611101577216 |