Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

The consensus among public health practitioners is that digital interventions can potentially be used to equitably improve access to healthcare especially among people who experience marginalization including gay, bisexual men and minority language populations. This is crucial in sexual health where stigma and discrimination still constitute significant barriers to healthcare. Yet, many digital interventions have not given deliberate attention to health equity and some may inadvertently reinforced existing inequities in society in this situation. In this study, I will study people's behavior as they use an online sexually transmitted infections (STI) testing platform called GetCheckOnline to understand how aspects of the platform affect adoption and utilization of care. I will then interview the website visitors who start the process of requesting an STI test but do not complete it to identify their issues with the website and how to improve the experience. I will pay specific attention to ways in which gender and sexual orientation play into peoples' experience and their outcomes. I will use research methods that are specifically adapted to identifying what works, for whom and under what conditions. This research will improve the delivery of online STI services, especially for people who experience marginalization in Canada. Through this work, we may identify aspects of online STI interventions that may be adapted to promote equitable access to health services. In addition, by understanding user characteristics, behaviors and experiences at various steps of the service cascade on the online STI testing platform, we may learn how to best tailor digital interventions to meet the unique needs of various categories of people who experience marginalization.