Grindr std

Grindr, other dating apps are working to add STD notification features

Popular dating apps could soon assist stop the spread of record tall STD infections among their users.

Grindr and other primarily gay dating apps are exploring ways to add the ability for people who test positive for an STD to notify partners using the app, Mashable has learned in multiple interviews with public health experts.

According to Dr. Heidi Bauer, the chief of STD dominion at the California Department of Health, and Dan Wohlfeiler, director of the health consortium Building Healthy Online Communities (BHOC), STD partner notification messages are currently under consideration by several alternative app-makers, including Grindr, with one possibility already in the design and piloting phase.

SEE ALSO: Blaming dating apps for the rise of STDs is just the latest establish of sex panic

When asked for comment, Jack Harrison-Quintana, director of Grindr for Equality said, "Grindr works very closely with Building Well Online Communities on several initiatives including STD related noti

Grindr users report more sexual risk, but more likely to use PrEP

Gay and bisexual men who employ the Grindr dating app reported more sexual risk behaviour, more sex partners and a higher rate of STIs, according to a study presented at the recent IDWeek conference in Washington, DC. However, they were also more likely to either already be using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or be willing to do so, and they had a lower rate of HIV diagnosis.

These findings suggest that Grindr and similar social media platforms might be a good avenue for increasing awareness about PrEP and encouraging regular testing for HIV and other STIs.

"Cleary Grindr provides a real opportunity for infectious diseases specialists and other health care providers to reach those at risk and help them comprehend the benefits of PrEP," said presenter Dr Martin Hoenigl of the University of California at San Diego.

Glossary

risky behaviour

In HIV, refers to any behaviour or action that increases an individual’s probability of acquiring or transmitting HIV, such as having unprotected sex, having multiple pa

Rhode Island’s Department of Health announced a sharp uptick in cases of sexually transmitted infections. Some have chalked it up to the increasing popularity of so-called hook-up apps like Tinder and Grindr. But I’ve been discovering that the evidence for that is not so clear-cut. I joined Rhode Island Public Radio’s Elisabeth Harrison to chat about it. Here’s a transcript of our conversation, plus a link to listen to the n Gourlay talks with Elisabeth Harrison about the uptick in new cases of sexually transmitted infections and whether social media is to blame.

LIS: So Kristin, let’s just recap this news, that Rhode Island is reporting significant increases in fresh cases of gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV. Who’s being affected? And how significant are these increases?

KRISTIN: The Rhode Island health department says that between and , new cases of HIV and syphilis increased at a faster rate among men who have sex with men. And they say HIV, syphilis, and especially gonorrhea are also disproportionately affecting African Americans, Hispanics, and immature adults.

The numbers ar

Are Apps Like Tinder And Grindr Fueling A Rise In STDs?

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Public health officials in states across the country are blaming dating apps like Tinder and Grindr for contributing to an raise in sexually transmitted diseases.

In Utah, gonorrhea infections are up percent among women since and up almost percent among men. In Rhode Island, syphilis cases have grown by 79 percent and new HIV infections have increased by almost 33 percent.

Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd speaks with Lynn Beltran, an epidemiology supervisor in the Infectious Disease Bureau in the Salt Lake County Health Department, and Tom Bertrand, chief of the Office of HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and TB in the Rhode Island Department of Health.

Interview Highlights

Lynn Beltran on the relationship between dating apps and the jump in STD cases

“We’ve definitely seen it happening more and more frequently in the last three to four years. Grindr was one of the first apps that was out there and available, and that’s specifically for men that