Utilizing New Media (Web 2.0) to Decrease HIV-related Stigma in Asian & Pacific Islander Communities

While Asian & Pacific Islanders (A&PI) represent approximately 1% of all national HIV/AIDS cases, A&PIs had the highest estimated annual percentage increase in diagnosis rates of all race/ethnicities from 2001 to 2004. HIV-related stigma and low community perceived risk of HIV contribute to rising rates and continued invisibility of the epidemic amongst A&PIs.

Purpose: To provide participants with strategies for using social media to create healthy communities.

Methods: Banyan Tree Project (BTP) is a national community mobilization project aimed at reducing HIV-related stigma amongst A&PIs. The project has three core elements: social marketing, National A&PI HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, and leadership development. Initially, BTP promoted the social marketing campaign by working with HIV-focused organizations, leaders, and media nationally. To target more mainstream A&PI networks, BTP is now utilizing Web 2.0 and social networking, which are cost-effective ways to reach communities. The new strategy includes collaborating with social justice organizations to integrate HIV/AIDS into discussions of other community concerns.

Results: In 2010, BTP public service announcement (PSA) was available in 65,000,000 homes. From January-November, BTP website had 54,754 visits (87% being new visitors). Website analytics indicate 50% of traffic source was from Hulu.com. Compared to past years, new types of engagement yielded a 1389% increase in overall page views.

Discussion: By utilizing new media placement, we boosted exposure of HIV.AIDS within A&PI communities, which led to increased community involvement in BTP. With diminishing resources for public health work, new media is a critical piece in disseminating health information and creating healthy communities.