The shift to digital
A significant share of KVP partner-seeking now happens on dating and social-networking platforms. Static and street-based outreach simply does not see these clients. In 2023 EpiC built a dedicated online outreach cadre, recruited from existing peers and trained in safe, ethical digital engagement.
Forty-eight online outreach workers were trained across the six councils. The curriculum covered platform ethics, anonymity, safeguarding, conversation pacing, referral booking, and digital security.
The first year of contacts
Online outreach workers logged 12,400 digital contacts during the year — defined as a two-way exchange of substantive prevention content. Six hundred and twenty contacts converted into a booked HIV test or PrEP screening, of which 552 (89 percent) showed up.
Show-up rates are notably higher than walk-in rates because the digital booking conversation typically resolves the practical and emotional barriers before the appointment.
What we still need to learn
Online outreach raises ethical and operational questions we are still working through — anonymity versus follow-up, platform terms of service, worker burnout from 24/7 messaging expectations. The work continues, with a published code of practice and a structured weekly supervision rhythm for every worker.
Trained online outreach workers reach KVPs that no offline modality can find, and convert them into clinic visits at high rates.