Talking about STD/HIV prevention: a look at communication online.

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Title: Talking about STD/HIV prevention: a look at communication online.
Authors: Keller, S. N. (AUTHOR), Labelle, H. (AUTHOR), Karimi, N. (AUTHOR), Gupta, S. (AUTHOR)
Source: AIDS Care. Nov2004, Vol. 16 Issue 8, p977-992. 16p.
Subjects: Adolescent health, Health education, Study & teaching of sexually transmitted diseases, Websites, Human sexuality, Online information services
Abstract: Little is known about the quality and usability of online health information. This analysis evaluated STD prevention websites' content quality and usability. Thirty-six sites were analyzed to determine their adherence to established sexual health guidelines and their accessibility, usability, credibility and currency. The objective of this study was to determine what communication skills are available to teenagers through STD prevention websites. Only two (6%) addressed safe sex negotiation; seven (19%) addressed basic communication skills; and slightly more than half (53%) addressed at least one sexual decision-making message. Most sites displayed consistent template design and two-thirds had working hyperlinks. But few (19%) of the sites offered a site map, while only one-third (36%) provided an internal search engine. These results indicate that health educators need to include tips on how to negotiate safe sex and improve interactive design features when creating STD websites for teenagers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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Abstract:Little is known about the quality and usability of online health information. This analysis evaluated STD prevention websites' content quality and usability. Thirty-six sites were analyzed to determine their adherence to established sexual health guidelines and their accessibility, usability, credibility and currency. The objective of this study was to determine what communication skills are available to teenagers through STD prevention websites. Only two (6%) addressed safe sex negotiation; seven (19%) addressed basic communication skills; and slightly more than half (53%) addressed at least one sexual decision-making message. Most sites displayed consistent template design and two-thirds had working hyperlinks. But few (19%) of the sites offered a site map, while only one-third (36%) provided an internal search engine. These results indicate that health educators need to include tips on how to negotiate safe sex and improve interactive design features when creating STD websites for teenagers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:09540121
DOI:10.1080/09540120412331292462