For Site Owners
Are you the owner or manager of an online dating app or website? Are you interested in promoting gay men’s health? Then this site is for you.
(If you are in public health or a researcher interested in HIV and STD prevention for gay men, then scroll down to see what this site can do for you).
Dating apps and websites provide an easy, fun, and efficient way for gay, bi, and trans men to meet. They also create a unique, effective opportunity to reach a community disproportionately affected by HIV and STDs.
What owners have repeatedly said to BHOC is that they want to help. They want to promote testing, provide their users with clear, accurate information, and be able to learn about and implement the most effective online prevention strategies.
We built this website to address those needs, and to provide a central, go-to source for information and resources to help you promote the health of your users.
This website will help you to effectively, efficiently, and at the lowest cost possible, take a more active role in transforming the way we approach sex ed and promote gay, bi and trans men’s health. Implementing strategies for your users to share personal sexual health preferences with each other, getting information into the hands of your users, and building a supportive and friendly online community will create a better user experience and keep your users healthy.
So what exactly will you find here?
In the “Make Your Site Healthier and Kinder” section we provide easy-to-follow ideas for how to integrate key features into your site that make it a kinder, healthier, and more supportive environment for your users. This means allowing users to share sexual health and preference information with each other more easily, and creating an online experience that combats stigma and is safe for everyone. “Making Your Site Healthier” includes information on:
- Creating profile options that support users in sharing sexual health and preference information
- Sharing anti-stigma efforts used by some dating apps and websites
- Sharing ad campaigns that promote HIV testing, treatment, and fight stigma
- Articles about dating and hook-up sites
- LGBTQ and health awareness days you may be interested in knowing about
In the “Sexual Health Info” section you will find sex-ed content you can share with gay, bi, and trans men on your dating app or website. This information has been written in such a way to make it easy for you to drag-and-drop specific content into your app/website. However, the way this information makes it to your users is up to you. You may find it more suitable to link directly to our website, or to other online resources we have provided within the site. This content can also be customized to fit the language you use on your app or can be translated into an article for your website’s health blog. We value your feedback in making this information the most useful for your users. “Give Users Good Info” includes:
- Sex-positive content, videos, tutorials, and links to other online resources for health information tailored to gay, bi and trans men’s needs
- The latest and most accurate information on sex, HIV/STDs, condoms & lube, PrEP, Treatment as Prevention, PEP, mental health and drugs, and testing.
- HIV and STD testing reminder services
In the “Help Users Notify Partners” section you will find information on how you can make it easy for users to let their partners know that they may need to get tested based on a recent exposure to an STD. There are several different ways to do that. Some gay men like to do it themselves; others have found it easier to ask a health department or community clinic professional to do it for them. Partner notification is a well-honed, confidential way to make sure that users who are most at risk for STDs get offered the opportunity to get tested and treated. “Help Notifying Partners” includes:
- An explanation of partner notification
- The evidence behind the effectiveness of internet partner services
- Resources including links and language for how to describe it to your users
This website will ultimately help you to effectively, efficiently, and at the lowest cost possible, take a more active role in transforming the way we approach sex ed and promote gay, bi and trans men’s health. In the end, getting this sexual health information into the hands of your users, implementing strategies for them to share personal sexual health and preferences with each other, and facilitating a supportive and friendly online community will create a better user experience and keep your users healthy.
If there’s something you don’t see here – and you want it – please contact us. Thank you for your ongoing leadership and support in gay men’s health.
For Public Health + Research Professionals
Are you in public health or a researcher interested in HIV and STD prevention for gay men in dating apps and sites? Then this site is also for you.
If you’re here, you already know that dating sites and apps can play an important role in preventing HIV and STDs. They can help educate millions of users about how to take care of themselves. They can help users make informed choices about their sexual health, and to communicate effectively with their partners. This site is aimed at helping all of us – public health, researchers, and site and app owners – support those efforts as effectively and efficiently as possible.
In this site, you’ll find state-of-the art – and scientific – information on how to promote gay men’s health online. We’ve included information on how to buy ads online, examples of ad campaigns and contact information if you want to borrow them, and comprehensive sex ed information. We’ll also be supporting health departments and community organizations’ efforts to get alerts out to users when there’s an urgent outbreak.
If there’s something you don’t see here – and you want it – please contact us. Thank you for all you do and your commitment to gay men’s health.