GetCheckedbc: Developing new knowledge to inform the province-wide implementation of an online STI/HIV testing service for youth

The Internet is a medium that offers unprecedented reach to populations at risk for STIs and HIV. Youth (ages 15-24) bear a significant burden of STI/HIV infection in BC, particularly in some communities (e.g. rural, with large youth populations), and have been shown to be particularly receptive to internet-based services. The STI/HIV Division at BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has recently been funded to develop GetCheckedBC (GCBC), a new online STI/HIV testing intervention. Building on a previous study that informed the planning and development of the GCBC content and approach, with a specific focus on understanding the saliency and credibility of online approaches for youth, the current study will focus on efforts related to scaling-up the GCBC across BC's five Health Authorities over the next five years. We acknowledge that many aspects of a young person's social position interact to determine their use of testing (furthermore, service providers also are influenced by social context). In BC, at least three sub-groups of youth may be considered priority populations (youth who identify as LGBT; racialized youth; street-involved youth). The current proposal will actively engage young people who are clients (or prospective clients) of GCBC, as well as service providers, to understand youth's experiences with GCBC and to examine the effects and diffusion of the use of GCBC in the youth population. The proposed five-year study will use qualitative and quantitative methods to develop new knowledge to inform effective, province-wide scaling up of GCBC.