National HIV Testing Day TwitterViews

New media has become a crucial tool for relaying health information, sharing resources, developing and maintaining partnerships, promoting events and building community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), AIDS.gov and other Federal partners have taken great strides in using new media as a form of outreach and communication, including the use of blogs, Twitter , Facebook , podcasts, e-cards and online videos. We have been delighted to see partners, nonprofits, public health professionals, advocates and others who have been touched by HIV/AIDS unite to form a community under such social media platforms.

CDC has found Twitter – the popular online networking site that allows members to share “microblogs” – to be an effective tool to engage with the HIV/AIDS community. CDC has hosted events on Twitter surrounding HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, STDs and TB, such as last year’s “Twitter Town Hall” and biweekly “Twitter Chats” that are hosted through the National Prevention Information Network (NPIN) .

On June 27, 2011, we observe National HIV Testing Day, a day which encourages HIV testing and early detection of HIV/AIDS. To commemorate this day, CDC will host a series of TwitterViews, which are online interviews conducted between two Twitter accounts. The TwitterViews will be held daily June 20-24 and will feature subject matter experts on new media, HIV testing, primary care, National HIV Testing Day and mental health and substance abuse. Time will be allotted during each hour for questions and open discussion. Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions prior to the TwitterView. Submit your questions or comments via Twitter to @CDCNPIN or email your questions to [email protected] .

The following is a list of National HIV Testing Day TwitterViews to be held on Twitter :

Monday, June 20, 3:30 – 4:30 pm EDT
Miguel Gomez, Director, AIDS.gov (@AIDSgov )
Topic: New Media and HIV Prevention

Tuesday, June 21, 3:30 – 4:30 pm EDT
Kevin Fenton, MD, PhD, FFPH, Director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC (@CDC_DrFenton )
Topic: Importance of HIV Testing

Wednesday, June 22, 3:30 – 4:30 pm EDT
Seiji Hayashi, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, Bureau of Primary Health Care, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (@HRSAgov )
Topic: HIV and Primary Care

Thursday, June 23, 2:30 – 3:30 pm EDT
Frank Oldham, President and CEO, National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) (@NAPWAus )
Topic: National HIV Testing Day

Friday, June 24, 2:30 – 3:30 pm EDT
Gretchen Stiers, PhD, HIV/AIDS Policy Lead, Office of Policy, Planning and Innovation, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (@SAMHSAgov )
Topic: Mental Health, Substance Abuse and HIV

To participate in the real-time TwitterViews, follow @CDCNPIN on Twitter and the “hashtag” #NHTDchat . We encourage you to “re-tweet,” engage in the discussions, share your thoughts and promote your National HIV Testing Day events. Remember to use #NHTDchat in your tweets so others can follow your participation. If you are unable to follow the conversation during the live interviews, the scripts will be posted in the notes section on CDC NPIN’s Facebook Page .

To find out more about National HIV Testing Day, visit www.hivtest.org . We look forward to your participation in the TwitterViews and thank you for your efforts to promote National HIV Testing Day!

By Nancie Vito, MPH, CHES, Fellow, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC