Houston Department of Health and Human Services

• Background

• Objectives

• Goals

• Process– Challenges

• Overcoming Barriers

• Future Plans

• Visit the Web Site: www.penshouston.org

Overview

• PENShouston is an innovative website designed by the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS) to aid in STD partner elicitation and notification services (PENS) as well as provide online STD education.

PENShouston

Background

• Reluctance to disclose partners– Fear and stigmatization of infected people

– Mistrust of Public Health Department • Government entity• Social status of clients• Confidentiality of PMD vs Public Health

Objective

• The objective of PENSHouston is to meet some of the challenges of partner elicitation and notification via a website-based interview and to provide STD educational material.

Goals

• To improve the percent of clients with syphilis infection who get interviewed

• To improve the time frame for interview from the date of diagnosis

• To improve the number of contacts per case interviewed

• To improve the number of clusters per case interviewed.

Process

• Presented the concept (2004)– MSM project – increase of cases

• Health Promotion and Health Education funding under Syphilis Elimination – new concepts

• Assembled an internal work group – latter (2004).

• Brain Storm the interview process.• Developed a logic model• Developed a timeline• Presented idea to the state office and upper

management

• Included additional internal work group members.

• Searched different websites

• Began the website design

• Hired programmer

• Work group gathered STD facts and other verbiage for the website.

• Contracted a part time web designer

Process

• Submitted a request to add a report menu.

• Engaged internal staff to a friendly competitive exercise in naming the website.

• Selected name

• Registered the Domain Name and SSL

• Copied the database to the Domain Server

Process

• Met and hired a security audit company to test the vulnerability of the website.

• Corrected problems identified by the software auditing company.

• Organized and conducted three focus groups.

• Made modifications to Penshouston suggested by the focus group.

Process

• Designed the provider cards.

• Marketed Penshouston to the targeted community based organization and medical providers.

• Developed internal guidelines.

• Met with staff from the pilot site.

• Developed external guidelines for the pilot project.

Process

• Launched PENShouston October 2006, at the Montrose Clinic.

• Six months later added two additional sites.

Process

• Modern Technology/Communications– We raised our awareness by excepting the challenge on how to better serve a high

risk population

Moving Forward

• Integration into other systems.– STD*MIS– Client referrals

Moving Forward

Visit

Acknowledgements

City of Houston Department of Health• STD Prevention

– John Paffel, Linda Hollins, Larry Prescott, Michael Thomas, Geri Williams

• STD Surveillance– Mark Perry, Marcia Wolverton, Amanda Kubala, Ana Alvarez

• Media Relations– Marty Blaise

• Information Technology– Vernon Hunt, Matt Stanford, Lakeishia Esene, Jayson Gay, Michael

Contreras, Annie Chen, • Directors Office

– Daphine Sands

Community Partners and local staff who participated in Focus Groups

References

• See Lawrence O. Gostin, James G. Hodge, Jr. (Piercing the Veil of Secrecy in HIV/AIDS and Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Theories of Privacy and Disclosure in Partner Notification)