STI perspectives

Joseph D Tucker, Kristine Shields, Giovanni Villa
2020 Sexually Transmitted Infections  
TurnIng To The crowd for advIce on STI dIagnoSIS Do people turn to internet groups for help with their own sexual health problems? An empirical analysis of the online website Reddit examined how often people ask the online community for diagnostic help related to STIs. The study examined a random sample of 500 social media posts and found that 58% of posts requested diagnostic advice from the online community. A total of 87% of requests for help were answered by the local community, often
more » ... a matter of hours. The investigators did not examine the accuracy of responses or whether this online engagement delayed clinical care seeking. This study raises important questions about the opportunities and perils of tapping collective intelligence for sexual health. Nobles AL, Leas EC, Althouse BM, et al.
doi:10.1136/sextrans-2019-054272 pmid:32423998 fatcat:epcfdbi4ojb4pdeb3kx6ugltg4