May 2014 - Imperial Festival

We ran three public engagement activities; a live sexual behaviour survey, STI myth busting true or false cards, and a “match the interventions to the epidemiology” game. Demonstrators: Jenny Smith, Bethan Davies, Minttu Ronn, Jeff Eaton, Rebecca Geary, Erica Pufall, Sharmistha Mishra, Ide Cremin, Elisa Mountain, Ciara Dangerfield, Jocelyn Elmes, Sarah-Jane Anderson.

Live Sexual Behaviour Survey

A key determinant of the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections worldwide are the patterns of sexual risk behaviour in populations. Scientists use surveys in which a random sample of the population is asked about their sexual behaviour to study patterns of sexual activity within and between populations. These surveys have helped us to understand important and often surprising differences in sexual behaviours between populations, but also are associated with challenges and biases.

We conducted a real-time sexual behaviour survey gathering responses from attendees of the Festival. Two roaming demonstrators invited individuals in the audience to complete a short anonymous sexual behaviour survey on the tablets (via Google docs). Average results from the audience are updated on a series of bar charts which are shown on a TV screen behind the main stand (comparing the audience in question to a UK average and an average for another country – the example we have used previously is Zimbabwe). Audience members who complete the survey are invited to go find the stand and see the overall results. This activity is designed to stimulate discussion around the type of data we use in STI epidemiology and its potential biases.

The survey questions are:

• What is your sex?
• How old were you when you first had sex (if you have ever had sex)?
• How many different people have you ever had sex with?
• Did you answer these questions truthfully?

STI Myth-Busting: True or False Cards

We have compiled a list of common misconceptions, and some surprising facts, about STIs and sexual health, which we have made into true or false statements. One or two roaming demonstrators behind or near our stand have a series of true or false cards that they can ask passers-by. Some of these are demystifying ‘urban legends’ and others have facts about STIs in the UK, Europe & elsewhere.

Matching the Intervention to the Epidemiology

There is tremendous variation globally in the burden of HIV infections, and also the ways in which it is spread. To demonstrate this we have a large world map on the stand with countries coloured by adult HIV prevalence levels. Six example cities are highlighted to show the contribution of different drivers of the HIV epidemic in different places. Visitors are then asked to think about what HIV interventions might work best in different locations, and discussions can be expanded to issues of access, effectiveness, cost, etc if they are really interested. There are laminated cards with some discussion points for each of the interventions we discuss:

• Condom distribution
• Cash incentives
• Male circumcision
• Microbicides
• Needle exchange
• Treatment

Finally, we also have some cuddly toy microbes that we can distract small children with!