There's no easy way to say this... STD partner-notification via an e-card

ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the online sexually transmitted disease (STD) partner-notification service, InSPOT, found at www.InSPOT.org. This chapter seeks to understand the interpersonal issue of low partner self-disclosure rates and offers a critical view of the online notification method through a rhetorical perspective. Tetradic analysis of the health campaign exploits the technological power of this new disclosure strategy. It also reveals both positive and negative enhancements, obsolescences, retrievals, and reversals that are brought about by online partner notifications via e-card. As society turns more technological, this study is essential to understanding how the Internet can be channeled by health organizations and individuals infected with STDs. Given STD rates in the Caribbean and worldwide, the research suggests that InSPOT has great potential for increasing communication and slowing the spread of disease; yet if left unaltered, InSPOT has great potentials for furthering the silence surrounding STDs and consequently increasing the spread of disease. Conclusions and recommendations for improving the partner notification service are highlighted. These conclusions are valuable for not only students of communication but health practitioners and individuals infected with communicable diseases.