To notify someone anonymously that you may have infected them with a sexual infection: the new health tool

BarcelonaIn Catalonia and Europe, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a public health problem. Since 2010, detected cases have increased by an average of 32.4% annually. Furthermore, in the last decade, at least 405 sexually transmitted infections have been detected in minors under 14 years of age in the country, which is why Catalonia has advanced the surveillance of sexual infections to 12 years of age. However, one of the obstacles to detection is the shame of going to a center to get tested or, in case of being positive for a sexual infection, communicating it to one's partner or partners so that they also get tested.

Now, the ITSready project can be useful in ensuring that taboo does not lead to underdetection. The initiative, presented this Thursday by the Department of Health, is aimed at young people aged 16 to 25 from all over Catalonia and consists of three tools: a self-testing kit, an application to notify a possible exposure to an STI, and a chatbot to inform about sexual infections.

The first is Testa't Jove, an application that allows you to request a free self-sampling kit to detect HIV, chlamydia, and gonorrhea from home. Those who request it receive the kit at home or at a pick-up point, then send the samples to the reference laboratory and can consult the results confidentially through the platform.

In the event that someone knows they are positive for an STI, the project also includes Notifica, a communication channel that allows anonymous notification to sexual partners of a possible exposure to an STI. The channel can promote early diagnosis and contribute to interrupting transmission chains, as it overcomes the barrier of fear or shame of explaining the situation to an acquaintance. Finally, ITSready also has a chatbot to search for reliable information about sexuality, STIs, and prevention, using language adapted to young people's slang.

1,500 'kits'

It is expected that, for the moment, the project will distribute 1,500 kits of demonstration and that the data serve to generate scientific evidence on the viability, acceptability, and impact of these interventions in the prevention and early diagnosis of STIs and HIV among the young population in Catalonia.

The project is funded by La Marató de 3Cat and is jointly led by the Centre for Epidemiological Studies on STIs and AIDS of Catalonia (CEEISCAT), a group that is part of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) and is linked to the Secretariat of Public Health of the Department of Health; the Lluita contra les Infeccions Foundation; the Barcelona Public Health Agency (ASPB); and the Youth Centre for Sexualities Care (CJAS).