A Note from Dr. Avery
Good things are happening.
Drumroll, please! We are about to launch Positive Peers 2.0! The launch will happen on Tuesday, Aug 15th, 2023.
It’s been a long year of analyzing, developing, testing, and more. The entire app has been remodeled with every aspect of the user experience in mind. We are so delighted to share this new version with you.
Upon launch, a tutorial will greet you when you log in. It will walk you through every single update in every section of the app. If you forget how something works, just touch the question mark in the upper-right corner to access a tutorial of the screen you’re on.
Three of the most significant updates to Positive Peers that you should be aware of:
1. There are now three levels of access for Positive peers.
- Guest User - New!
- Registered Participant - All our current users, plus eligible new users
- KHP (Key Health Partner) Admin - This is you!
Guest users do not need to register for the app. However, they only receive access to our articles and the med reminder. Participants still must register for full access to our community and resources.
You spoke up, we heard you! We know more than just young people can benefit from Positive Peers. By offering Guest access, we can reach more prospective users and encourage them to register. Doing so allows us to offer our two most powerful tools to anyone in need: the med reminder and access to health literacy information through our articles. Now you can recommend Positive Peers to ANYONE– a person with HIV who is 60 years old, the mother or bestie of the newly diagnosed teenager, or your cousin who always asks you questions about HIV. When Positive Peers 2.0 launches August 15th, 2023, ANYONE can download the app and read articles to improve their HIV and sexual health knowledge, they just won’t be able to see and interact with our community of YPWH (Young People With HIV) – that’s reserved for eligible participants who register for the app, just like always.
2. Access everything instantly from the home screen.
Our home screen now features the wellness tracker, Positive Notes (daily affirmations), personal chats, recent articles, community posts, and events. This update will make connecting to others and finding resources easier and faster for our users.
3. The community area has expanded.
The community area of our app has expanded to include the Forum, Events, Chats, and Articles. Here are some highlights:
- Users and KHPs can now like 👍🏾 posts in addition to commenting.
- KHPs can use clickable links in their posts.
- KHPs are pinned to the top of the Chat for users in your area to find and reach out to you easily.
- Your local area users will now be easier to find in Chat and you’ll be able to see who is logged in at the same time as you.
- KHPs can post events, and users in your area will get the event notice and a reminder.
Please take the time to update the app and go through the complete tutorial so you can educate new users on the many features and benefits of using Positive Peers. We’re hosting some virtual meetings to walk you through the updates as well – stay tuned!
As always, keep up the good work,
Ann K. Avery, MD
The MetroHealth System
Division of Infectious Disease
Positive Peers Principal Investigator
Current editions
Current Editions and Resources
Coming Soon
Artículos en Español. We have nearly 400 sex-positive health literacy articles on the Positive Peers website and in the app. We analyzed views and cultural relevance, and are translating the top 100 articles into Spanish. Moving forward, we’re planning to provide Spanish versions of most of our new articles.
Comments on articles. In the app, registered users will be allowed to comment on articles. These comments will give all of us a better view of what content is the most relevant and helpful.
Social Ads
Positive Peers will run social ads in all KHP areas at launch to generate registration interest. If you have additional funding you wish to spend, contact us for other advertising opportunities. We know it can be hard work to recruit new app participants, our social ads and other marketing opportunities can help.
July 2023 has been our best month for enrollment since we opened our app for national registration
Increasing Enrollment
Please make sure people in your community know about Positive Peers. Here are some ways you can increase enrollment in the app:
- Make sure all HIV care providers in your community know about Positive Peers
- Provide HIV care providers with palm cards for them to give out in their clinics
- Ask HIV providers if they want to speak to us to learn about the value our app provides for those living with HIV
- Post about Positive Peers on your social media
Key Health Partner Badges
Our Key Health Partner badges are available for download and ready to be used on your website. Posting to your site boosts awareness, attracts new users, and gets more people into care.
Download here: https://positivepeers.org/health-partner/key-health-partnerresources/
App 2.0 will automatically update on August 15th, 2023
Users only need to log into the app with their username and password to gain immediate access to the new version (if you have your apps set to automatically update – if you don’t, then just go to the app store and find Positive Peers and click the available update on or after August 15th).
The new app is built on a foundation of quick connection and interaction. We have streamlined the user experience to make it simple and easy to find everything in one place. These enhancements also provide the foundation for additional updates in the near future, such as commenting on articles, more badges, and favoriting your people.
Below is a summary of the most significant improvements.
Every activity is right at your fingertips from the home page: scroll through our positive notes, your current chats, our recent articles, community posts, and upcoming events.
Forum Posts and Private Chats are viewable on the home screen. Dive into chats and find Key Health Partners pinned at the top for quick and easy access. Swipe through the Forum Posts, see who is in the app in real-time, and respond to posts or give a thumbs up.
Positive Peers 2.0 will now include badges, rewarding users for positive behaviors, and reaching milestones. Upon launch, our current users will have already earned their first–and rarest badge–the Founders Badge. People who use the med reminder can earn Med Streak Badges too!
Read our most recent article announcing the launch of the new app and dive into the details in our new article post.
Get Social
Follow us
Follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn) and tag us in your posts using @postivepeers4u and #postivepeers
Not socially savvy? We are.
Ask us how we can run social advertising in your community to help promote your services and partnership in our Positive Peers social accounts.
For more information, contact:
Help YPWH find the support they need - Invite us to present about Positive Peers
We are willing to participate in virtual meetings with your Ryan White Planning Council or other community planning groups, staff meetings in HIV clinics, and HIV social work networks. Consider inviting us to your groups.
If you are interested, please contact [email protected].