Social media amplifies HIV testing messages in China
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FHI 360 project officer Xu Zhixiang shares the results of a project using social media to promote HIV testing among Chinese MSM.
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Social media amplifies HIV testing messages in China
- 1. Chinese Social Media for HCT Promotion in the Xiu Boy Campaign • • Charles, Zhixiang Xu • FHI 360 China/Kunming Office
- 2. Background • FHI 360 and our local partners in Yunnan and Guangxi, China had worked for two years to improve the quality of VCT services – Training, materials, clinic facilities, monitoring • Uptake has increased, but remains low
- 3. How do people generally view HIV and HIV tests in their minds?
- 4. What an HIV test will give me?
- 5. What an HIV test will give me? Give new, positive meanings to HIV testing services
- 6. Objectives • Promote the “Xiu Ge Zhi Cheng” website • Increase uptake of VCT services • Increase willingness of VCT clients to share their experiences among MSM
- 7. Key promises • If you are tested for HIV, you will: – Receive free, high-quality, fast service – Not be discriminated against by doctors and counselors – Be able to demonstrate to the rest of the community that you are an “exceptional” MSM
- 8. Characteristics of the activities • • • • • Driven by community interests Based on MSM strengths rather than weaknessess Contain cues to action Be linked to the campaign logo Linked to key “exceptional/show” image： – “Show your best self” – “Exceptional service” – “I’m exceptional”
- 9. Channels - www.xiuboy.com – – – – – Useful, easy to find content Free, anonymous self-risk assessment Can “meet” our medical staff Can see what our clients say about our services If you have feedback about our services, can tell us directly
- 10. Channels
- 12. Channels • Peer education – One-on-one outreach – Activities at the DiC • Special activities – Bathhouses – Other gay bars • Competitions – Sports, performance, fashion
- 13. Video blogging and digital video competition
- 15. Results • 9,461 site visits during the six-month campaign (7,082 unique site visitors) • 961 site visitors completed risk assessment survey. • 48 videos were uploaded for the competition and 6,673 votes were cast during one month of voting • Increased traffic to testing information during the competition • Uptake of HCT services increased by 26%, and identified number of HIV+ cases increased by 22%.
- 16. Lessons learned for use of social media • Social media platforms, an important channel for engaging hard-to-reach populations • Audience-produced and controlled content can generate significant enthusiasm for behavior change activities • More effective to work with younger staff/volunteers and younger MSM who are already comfortable with social media • Challenges in rapidly evolving social media technology, and technical resources to maintain dynamic web-based contents for repeat visits
- 17. Let’s show, enjoy and keep healthy together
- 18. Thanks go to Green City Rainbow and Spring Rain MSM Groups and MSM Communities in Kunming and Nanning Cities
Editor's Notes
- Good afternoon, everyone. I am glad to share with you all FHI 360’s experience in using Chinese social media for HCT promotion in the Xiuboy Campaign, a milestone under the USAID-supported HIV/AIDS Programming for MSM in southwestern provinces in China.
- Before the Xiuboy Campaign, FHI 360 and our local partners in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces made efforts to strengthen the quality of HIV counseling and testing services for most-at-risk populations, through intensive trainings, material development, clinic facilities improvement and monitoring. Uptake of HIV counseling and testing services had increased, but remained low.
- When we take a closer look at the reasons of why, we shall see what HIV and HIV tests look like in their eyes?
- Yes, for many MSM in China, HIV and HIV tests are like this picture, grey and dark, having no future. Many men have strong self perceptions that available services were low-quality and discriminatory. In order to make a difference, we really needed to reshape community norm.
- What can we do then? We shall give new, positive meanings to HIV testing services. In 2010, USAID sponsored a behavioral tracking survey among MSM in project sites in Yunnan and Guangxi indicated that, if a MSM knows that someone in his social group has been tested for HIV, he is more likely to go for an HIV test himself. That’s how we came out with the idea of Xiuboy Campaign.
- The campaign specifically targeted MSM in two cities where USAID/FHI 360 supported HIV interventions for MSM: Kunming and Nanning. As you may know, the internet in China has become an increasingly popular means of finding sexual partners among Chinese MSM, especially so for those hard-to-reach men who may never visit or seek sexual partners in traditional gay venues. The XiuGeZhi Cheng Campaign created an internet-based platform to lower the barriers to HIV counseling and testing uptake for MSM by addressing the major concerns among MSM in both cities. So the objectives of the campaigns are:
- The campaign was designed based on some key promises:
- XiuGeZhi Cheng literally means the city of xiuboys in Chinese. XiuGeZhi Cheng Campaign is a community-based response driven by community interests. The campaign activities are based on MSM strengths rather than weaknesses. The activities are participatory, linked to key “exceptional/show” image: “Show your best self”, “Exceptional services”, and “I am exceptional” Etc. Participants are encouraged to become “ambassadors” for HIV counseling and testing services.
- The most important channel for the campaign is the XiuGeZhi Cheng Website. Features of the website included:Useful, easy to find, basic information on HIV/STIs and living with HIVAssistance with locating an HIV testing clinicInformation on legal rights for testing clients and PLHIVAn anonymous, automatic risk-assessment survey which delivered tailored behavior change messages based on the users risk profileDigital video of testing providers and previous testing clients explaining their experiences with the USAID-supported testing services
- In order to promote the website, it was linked to different internet-based social medias including popular Chinese gay websites, website-based chatrooms for MSM, MSN type of QQ groups, SinaWeibo ( Chinese version of twitter) as well as venue-based promotional activities that entails face-to-face communication with people.
- These are paid web banners placed on the privately managed MSM web portals most frequently used by the target populations in both cities. The banners contained key messages that challenged the concerns about HIV tests among MSM through confrontation or by giving it new meanings
- TheXiuboy campaign was not limited to the virtual world. It was linked to venue-based promotional activities including special thematic parties, underwear show, talent show, competitions and regular outreach activities.
- The campaign additionally included a digital video competition. Website users were encouraged to upload videos of themselves to the xiuboy website, explaining their reasons for being tested for HIV. They mobilised their friends to visit the website and vote for their favorite video. The videos receiving the most votes received a prize.
- These are some of the digital videos about sharing personal experiences and understanding to challenge significant social stigma toward HIV testing. In order to do so, the videos uploaded for this competition were not allowed to obscure the faces of the participants.
- TheXiuGeZhi Cheng campaign activities ran for six months, from April through September 2011. Key website monitoring results include:9,461 site visits during the six-month campaign (7,082 unique site visitors)961 site visitors completed risk assessment survey. 48 videos were uploaded for the competition and 6,673 votes were cast during one month of votingIncreased traffic to testing information during the competitionUptake of HCT services increased by 26%, and identified number of HIV+ cases increased by 22%. This uptake, however, cannot be directly attributed to the website and/or campaign.
- Although the xiuboy campaign was a short-term initiative, invaluable lessons were learned about use of social media for HIV prevention:Social media platforms is and will be increasingly an important channel for engaging hard-to-reach populationsAudience-produced and controlled content can generate significant enthusiasm for behavior change activitiesIt will be more effective to work with younger staff/volunteers and younger MSM who are already comfortable with social mediaPopular internet-based platforms demand for unique technical resources to design, maintain and monitor dynamic web-based content. We are also faced with greater challenges in rapidly evolving social media technology. For example, WECHAT, an internet-based mobile chat technology, has become more and more popular in China.
- This is the slogan for the campaign – “同秀、同乐、同健康” Let’s show, let’s enjoy, Let’s stay healthy. Through the community campaign like ‘XiuGeZhi Cheng’, we hope that to have an HIV test is something many MSM would feel proud to do and share with their peers.