mtvU, Kaiser Family Foundation, POZ Magazine Launch Online Game To Confront HIV/AIDS-Related Stereotypes

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 02 May 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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mtvU, MTV's college network, and the Kaiser Family Foundation, in partnership with POZ Magazine, on Wednesday unveiled "Pos or Not," an online game that aims to confront HIV/AIDS stereotypes and overcome obstacles that prevent people from talking openly about the disease, Reuters reports (Reuters, 4/30). In the game, which also seeks to break down barriers that keep people from getting tested for HIV and using protection, players must decide whether a profiled participant is HIV-positive or negative based on a photo and a few personal details. HIV-positive participants share when they first learned their HIV status, and HIV-negative participants talk about how they have been affected by the disease. The game also provides information about HIV prevention, as well as local HIV and sexually transmitted infection resources from CDC (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 4/30).

The "Pos or Not" campaign, which was inspired by a nationwide competition asking college students to create a web-based game on the topic, is supported by several celebrities, including Wyclef Jean, Fall Out Boy, Will.i.am, Alyssa Milano, Say Anything, Perez Hilton, Angels & Airwaves, Atmosphere, The Spill Canvas, 30 Seconds to Mars, Aesop Rock, Motion City Soundtrack, All Time Low and Rise Against (Reuters, 4/30). Representatives from mtvU and the Kaiser Family Foundation will be presenting "Pos or Not" at the fourth annual Games for Health Conference on May 8-9 in Baltimore (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 4/30).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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