The Cutting Edge of STD Testing, Treatment and Partner Notification | |
| | Deb Levine: on January 27, 2012 at 01:19:32 PM | 
If you want to find out what's new in the STD testing world,
don't miss Sex::Tech 2012. As we all know, STD rates are highest among youth
and young adults, particularly youth of color and young men who have sex with
men.
While most STDs are treatable (chlamydia, gonorrhea,
syphilis), leaving one untreated can increase your risk of transmitting HIV,
which to date, has no cure.
If you're wondering how the folks at STD Prevention and
Control are using new media to reach out and provide access to clinical
services, you won't want to miss this panel at Sex::Tech with leaders in the
field from around the country.
Brenna Simon, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium: Folks in Alaska are reaching out to Native youth with
STD home testing. They adapted the evidence-based testing program, IWantTheKit,
to provide free at-home STD tests via the USPS.
Kendra Shanley, RTI International: This collaborative team
in California
including RTI, ISIS and three county health departments, is also adapting
IWantTheKit for young women, with the add-ons of confidential online results
online, treatment information, optional e-prescription, partner notification,
and referrals.
Yasir Shah, Washington,
DC Dept of Health: The District’s
School-based STD Screening Program has tested thousands of adolescents and
identified and treated hundreds of youth infected with chlamydia /
gonorrhea. ISIS, Inc. has collaborated
with DC DOH since 2010 to send text messages to students reminding them to call
in for their results. And the jury's in; Text to phone works!
Juan A. Mendez, Multnomah County Health Department: These
folks in Portland
are cutting edge. Their disease investigators began a
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Online STI Testing: Convenient,, Easy Since 2003 | |
| | Deb Levine: on July 05, 2011 at 01:17:50 PM | 
From Proof-of-Concept to National Model
via a Public-Private Partnership
Online STI testing has been available in San Francisco since 2003. STDtest.org was set
up by the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and ISIS, Inc.
(Internet Sexuality Information Services) in response to the syphilis epidemic
among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM).
During the first year of program service, men tested at
STDtest.org had a 2.3% yield of early syphilis infections, equal to that of the
municipal STD clinic (www.sfcityclinic.org)
and the gay men's health center (www.magnetsf.org).
All lab tests were performed by the City and County public health lab. (Levine,
Scott, Klausner (2005), Sexually
Transmitted Diseases, Vol. 32, #2, 139-141).
In 2009, the program was expanded beyond syphilis to include
chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and HIV testing. The testing services moved from
the City and County public health lab to private labs. The goal was to establish
feasibility and acceptability by the target communities so as to be able to set
up a model for national replication without the barrier of jurisdictional
boundary.
STDtest.org gained momentum quickly - from 218 tests per year at launch (syphilis
only, 2003) to 175 tests per month (2100 total for all 4 STDs per year, 2009). People
most at-risk for untreated disease complications were the ones getting tested,
as positivity rates climbed for syphilis (3.2%), and were also high for anal
chlamydia and gonorrhea (4.1%). Rates for genital chlamydia/gonorrhea were at
2.6%.
| Registrations for Sex::Tech April 1-2 in SF Almost Gone! | |
| | Deb Levine: on March 14, 2011 at 06:27:22 PM | 
Interested in the latest and greatest in youth, social/mobile media and sexual health? Sex::Tech 2011 is the place to be.
MTV will be there.
CDC will be there.
FHI will be there.
Scenarios USA will be there.
The NC will be there.
Register today. www.sextech.org
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| Abstracts Deadline Extended for Sex::Tech 2011 - Nov. 24th | |
| | Deb Levine: on November 01, 2010 at 02:17:23 PM |  Abstracts are Pouring In! Where's Yours?
Call for Abstracts
Submit at SexTech.org by November 24th!
Conference Goal: To bring health and technology professionals together with youth, parents and
community leaders to advance sexual health for youth and young adults.
There are four Tracks for abstract submission:
Field Reports
New or continued work in the area of sexual health and new media, with lessons learned in the
field, interactive examples, and any promising results.
Successes
Research data and analysis about effective programs in preventing HIV, STIs, unplanned
pregnancies, or unhealthy relationships among youth or young adults.
Tech
Learnings and how-to sessions for professionals around a particular form of technology, such
as social networking, geo-location tools, mobile apps, etc. Submitters should showcase their
expertise through examples of successful technology applications in the sexual health field.
I’m A…XYZ professional.
Submissions should be descriptions of your job or profession,
along with examples of how you interact with professional in other
fields, cross-discipline, and with youth, and why your role is key to
program success. (Examples: Epidemiologist, Usability tester, Social
marketing guru, etc.)
We welcome any submissions in the above tracks that relate to our conference goal, with particular
interest in the following areas:
mHealth for youth
Policy and advocacy for sexual rights
Sex education: information delivery in schools
Youth-led innovations
New social technologies
Effective partnerships
For full submission guidelines, click here:
http://www.sextech.org/abstract_info.php
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| | | Deb Levine: on September 07, 2010 at 02:35:53 PM | |
We have two job openings at ISIS. Announcements below. Read all the way down to get to submission requirements.
ISIS is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to preventing
STIs, including HIV, unplanned pregnancies and unhealthy relationships
among youth and young adults. We use new media, mobile and Internet
technology to reach large number of youth with prevention messages. Our
media-acclaimed projects include inSPOT.org, SexINFO text messaging and
the annual Sex::Tech conference in San Francisco.
The ISIS office is small and working relationships are informal. All
team members are expected to be self-directed and collaborative.
Communication and quality work are highly prized.
Director of MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
ISIS is currently looking for a Director of Marketing and
Communications (.6 FTE) to develop, implement, and oversee all marketing
and communication efforts across the agency. This position reports is
part of a Senior Management team, reporting directly to the Executive
Director.
Primary Responsibilities Include:
Develop and implement marketing and communications plan to fulfill the strategic and operational goals of the organization
Work with Executive Director to determine and manage marketing & communications budget.
Oversee development and iteration of organizational brand development strategy.
Research, develop and implement short- and long-term marketing plan for ISIS.
Communicate organizational mission and goals to funders and partners
Communicate project-based services and products direct-to-consumer
Create and produce online and print organizational and project-based
marketing materials in collaboration with Design team (audiences:
direct-to-consumer, potential clients)
Supervise Marketing/Communications team, including Social Media Manager, Creative Director and outside contractors
Supervise Social Media Manager in development of organizational and
project-based social media plan and online marketing strategy
Create and manage Marketing advisory team
Manage the Organization’s public relations strategy and optimize PR opportunities.
Implement measures to determine effectiveness of marketing and communications programs and create plans to improve results.
Participate in Senior Management meetings and coordinate with
Department Directors for all ISIS programs and organizational
development.
Other duties as assigned.
Required Experience and Qualifications Include:
Bachelor’s degree. MBA preferred.
10+ years of progressively responsible marketing
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| Recruiting Youth Aged 16-25 for NIH Study | |
| | Deb Levine: on June 02, 2010 at 03:30:56 PM |  Recruiting Youth aged 16-25 Nationally
If you have access to youth aged 16-25, we're recruiting for an NIH
research study. Please pass along the following information through
your youth networks. Thanks!
*****************
Are you interested in social causes? We are!
We are a team made up of researchers with the University Of Colorado
School Of Public Health and a non-profit organization called ISIS, who
use technology to promote sexual health. We are working on a project
that brings together 16-25 year old Facebook users to talk about
issues important to them. Because it's a study, you will either get
assigned to be a part of the group receiving sexual and reproductive
health information and promoting safe sex or the group receiving
information about current news relevant to 16-25 year olds.
You can earn $60 in gift cards, just by taking three different
10-minute surveys, getting your friends involved, "liking" our
Facebook page, checking out the cool content and participating in
discussions on our Facebook page!
If you are interested in joining, send a message to Lindsey Breslin at
lindsey.breslin@ucdenver.edu or call 720-690-4723, and she will get in
touch with you and give you the next steps to join the study.
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| Job Announcement: Program Manager-New Media at ISIS | |
| | Deb Levine: on June 02, 2010 at 03:26:35 PM | 
JOB DESCRIPTION – PROGRAM MANAGER-NEW MEDIA
Internet Sexuality Information Services, Inc. (ISIS) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to developing and using Internet and mobile technologies for sexual health promotion and disease prevention. Our mission is to provide leadership, innovation, educational resources and research in the field. Our media-acclaimed collaborations include inSPOT, SexINFO, and the annual Sex::Tech conference focusing on youth and technology.
ISIS is a pioneer in using the Internet to provide accurate, easily accessible sexual health information to the public. Our innovative approach extends to our staff as well as our audience: We don't reinvent the wheel; we use our knowledge and experience to design new programs that are destined for success. Our office is small and working relationships are informal. All team members are expected to be self-directed and collaborative. Communication and quality work are highly prized.
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Program Manager-New Media is responsible for conceptualizing and developing culturally appropriate technology for multiple ISIS projects and diverse communities as part of the ISIS team. The Program Manager-New Media also acts as the primary interface between ISIS and the clients on program-related communication.
Responsibilities:
• Research the newest technologies, tools and devices on the market and in popular use
• Devise strategies for using new technology and devices for sexual health promotion and disease prevention
• Gather community input on programs and integrate information into program execution
• Work closely with Creative Director and Director of Production to build new media and mobile projects
• Act as front-line liaison between clients and project teams on programmatic communications.
• Represent ISIS projects and clients at events, including conferences (ISIS and other), trainings, in-service trainings, etc.
• Liaison with clients/partners to understand their needs, bring those to the table, and facilitate quality tech projects for sexual health using appropriate technology
• Facilitate biweekly project brainstorming meetings about new projects
• Project manage 2-3 projects at a time, coordinating the project team to project completion and success
• Assume all other duties as assigned by the Executive Director or her designee.
Qualifications and Experience:
• Bachelor’s degree in health, science or communications, Master's preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of the Internet and social networking, mobile and associated technologies<
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| | | Deb Levine: on April 30, 2010 at 02:06:15 PM | 
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Deb Levine, MA
Tel: 510-835-9400
Fax: 510-835-9402
Email: deb@isis-inc.org
Send an E-card, Save a Life
ISIS Takes inSPOT E-cards National in Honor of STD Awareness Month
San Francisco, CA, April 27, 2010 -
- ISIS, a technology, Internet and mobile leader in the nonprofit
sector, is re-launching inSPOT.org as a national service in honor of
STD Awareness Month. inSPOT is a media-acclaimed website to help people
who are infected with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) inform their
sex partners about testing and treatment options using playful,
serious, and humorous e-cards that link to free and low-cost testing
services throughout the US.
inSPOT was the first peer-to-peer online STD partner notification
tool ever developed. First launched by ISIS in 2004 in response to a
local need — a significant rise in syphilis in San Francisco — inSPOT continues to be an innovative way to empower people who are diagnosed with a STD take charge of their own sex lives. inSPOT
currently reaches an annual average of 15,000 users in 13 states and 11
cities. With this
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