Positive Peers is a tailored smartphone app with a private, stigma-free, supportive community to support young people living with HIV. The app is secure and accessible only through a confidential registration process.
For now, only people living in Cleveland can gain entry into the app by registering in-person at MetroHealth. To schedule a time to register, you can call Joshua Kratz at 216-778-8137 or email positivepeers@metrohealth.org.
When you call, you’ll be asked a few questions to make sure you match the requirements of our app. You must also be between the ages of 13 – 34 and living with HIV.
At registration, you will take a survey and set up your profile by choosing a username, password, and avatar. The administrator will then give you access rights. Once created, your username can only be edited by our administrative team. You can always change your password, though.
We help you download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play onto your phone. We will show you how to select your theme color and set up other app settings. From your phone, you can change your avatar from a library of choices or upload a profile picture of yourself (or anything else) to help personalize your account. You can change all of this at any time.
During your appointment, we’ll also walk you through a tour of all the great features you can use to navigate living life with HIV.
Once the app is loaded, you are ready to join the Positive Peers community. Here are some pointers to get you started so you can take advantage of all the great features of the app! (This is part 1 of a 3-part series. Check back soon to see even more cool features of the app!)
Community
The Community tab serves as a virtual support group. You connect with peers living with HIV in a stigma-free, supportive environment.
Here’s what you can do in the community:
- Read others posts and replies.
- Click the add new (+) button to write your own post.
- Reply to a post.
- Subscribe or unsubscribe to a thread.
- Add links in a post to share a recommended site.
- Express yourself with GIFs and emojis.
- Click on an avatar to view someone’s profile.
Chat
Use private chat to reach out to a peer or the app administrator for a one-on-one conversation.
Here’s what you can do in chat:
- See a list of your most recent chats.
- Click the add new (+) button to view a list of off all Positive Peers members.
- Click on an avatar to view that member’s profile.
- Click on a name in the list to chat with a member directly.
- Add links in a chat.
- Add GIFs in your chat.
Blogs
Read articles about sex, dating, life hacks, and LGBTQ topics when living with HIV. The Positive Peers blog has been ranked as one of the top 50 HIV blogs and websites on the web today!
Come join our private, stigma-free, supportive community.
Health management tools with medication & appointment reminders.
Social networking in a community conversation & private chats.
Chill Out
Use these short videos on relaxation and breathing mediations to help improve your mood and get away from your day when you need a break.
My Health
Track your health score throughout the week by interacting with the app and engaging in healthy activities. Your health score resets every Sunday.
Here’s what you can do in My Health:
- View your health score for the week.
- View the community health score for the week.
- Change your viral load and CD4 count by tapping on their numbers.
- View or schedule your next doctor’s appointment.
- View or schedule your next support group meeting.
- Rate how you feel every day.
- Record that you took your meds every day.
- Record if you exercised every day.
You increase your health score by:
- Having a low Viral Load (< 20 is our lowest, but anything under 200 is undetectable).
- Increasing your CD4 count.
- Scheduling a doctor’s appointment in the calendar.
- Scheduling support group meeting in the calendar.
- Rating how you feel daily.
- Recording med intake daily.
- Recording exercise daily.
- Hint: You also get points for opening the app daily and for participating in the community!
Note: Look for even more new and exciting features to come for this feature soon!
Health Care Contacts
This is a listing of our MetroHealth’s HIV health care team: doctors, nurses, social workers, and additional support members. Each contact has an email and phone number listed. Click the email or phone to reach out for help or for additional information about your health or treatment.
Check out Part 2 of this series to learn about even more cool features of the app!
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