RSSH Seminar Series: HIV and digital health

What role can digital play in preventing, normalising and living healthily with HIV?

HIV/AIDS continues to be a poorly understood and stigmatised topic in the UK and elsewhere. A recent National AIDS trust study of public knowledge and attitudes in the UK reported that knowledge of HIV is patchy, with little awareness that treated HIV is untransmissible. The same study found that 83% of participants agree that people with HIV face negative judgement from others in society. In recent years digital health interventions have been developed to support people with preventing HIV, managing their condition or to normalise HIV as an everyday part of healthcare.

In this seminar, our three excellent speakers will discuss their work and research with people living with and affected by HIV, and their experiences of using digital health solutions and developing digital platforms. Speakers will critically engage on both the challenges and opportunities that apps, learning platforms and other digital solutions can present.

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Speakers: Dr Emily Jay Nicholls, Simon Moore & Rach Hart

Dr Emily Jay Nicholls is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Global Health, University College London. She is a sociologist and qualitative researcher interested in HIV, health activism and clinical practice. Her work has included engagement with a range of topics including histories of HIV, medication adherence and HIV self-testing. Emily is currently a qualitative researcher on CASCADE, focussing on experiences of recently acquired HIV.

Simon Moore is Director of Communications and Digital Health Strategy at Avert, a digital communications organisation focused on HIV and sexual health. Simon has over 20 years’ experience in communications for social change and has been working in HIV, health and development for 18 years. As well as roles at Avert, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and conflict prevention organisation Saferworld, he has consulted for a range of health and development organisations. Simon has a Masters in Behaviour Change and a Masters in International Policy and Diplomacy.

Rach Hart is a co-founder of the Preptrack Foundation. Having started her career with Deloitte in the consumer business sector, her career has since been within the not-for-profit sector, working for organisations including Amnesty International and MSI Reproductive Choices. With Preptrack operating as a fully volunteer based organisation, Rach is the finance and operations lead for the organisation, which she performs alongside her current role within a private philanthropic foundation. The Preptrack app is a free mobile app that supports users to use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) effectively to prevent HIV infections. The app also acts as a portal to help finding reliable guidance an information on PrEP and HIV. Preptrack aims to work closely with communities that are at the greatest risk of HIV to help improve PrEP adherence and move us all closer to the UNAIDS objective of ending the HIV epidemic.

Facilitator: Tom Witney

Dr Tom Witney is a research fellow at the Health Protection Research Unit on sexually transmitted infections and blood borne viruses at UCL and visiting fellow at The Open University. His research focuses on sexual health, HIV and relationship intimacy.

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