Public Health Awards Viral Video Contest Winners
Local TV stations cover contest in which high school students encourage peers to get tested for STIs, have healthy relationships, and reduce stigma.
“We see across the U.S. that more than half (of new) sexually transmitted infections occur in youth ages 15 to 24... That’s why it’s so important that we reach youth with the messages about the tools and information that are going to help keep them safe and healthy from these infections,” Dr. Sarah Rudman, Deputy Health Officer at County of Santa Clara Public Health Department, tells Dan Kerman at KRON 4.
High school students from across the county competed for cash prizes by creating original videos encouraging their peers to get tested for STIs, while promoting healthy relationships and reducing associated stigma. The County of Santa Clara Public Health Department spoke with local news stations KRON, KTVU, and Telemundo 48 about the importance of addressing this topic.
Watch stories from KRON and Telemundo
“Now that we are moving past the heart of the pandemic, we are seeing both sexual activity rates pick up and diagnosis rates pick up, so STDs are on the rise again,” Rudman tells KTVU’s Jesse Gary.
Source: Dr. Sarah Rudman speaks with KTVU’s Jesse Gary about Public Health’s Viral Video Contest
“Como es un tema difícil de hablar a veces porque es un poco incómodo pero es importante que todos sepan los riesgos de las ITS y sepan la importancia de hacerse una prueba porque es común que las infecciones no tienen ningún síntoma y la única forma de saber es hacerte una prueba”, aseguró Surasi con Libertad Pedraza, Telemundo 48.
(Translated: It's a hard topic to talk about sometimes because it's a little uncomfortable, but it's important that everyone knows the risks of STIs and knows the importance of getting tested because it's common that infections don't have any symptoms and (often) the only way to know is to get tested.”)
STI rates for gonorrhea and chlamydia increased in 2022 for people aged 15-19, but overall rates in Santa Clara County continue to be well below those seen across California and the United States.
Contest winners also spoke with local news stations, including Maria Esquivel, who joined Kerman at KRON. “It’s important for people our age to become aware of these things that not many people talk about,” said Esquivel.
Source: Screenshot of third-place winning video from Summit Tahoma students.
2024 Viral Video Contest Winners
- First Place: Genevieve Bramall, Summit Tahoma: https://youtu.be/S8Ahe0648iA
- Second Place: Allison Crick, Leslie Aleman Franco, Maria Esquivel, Silicon Valley Career Technical Education: https://youtu.be/EP1mEQBpPpA
- Third Place: Camille Bayer, Daschel Harrison, Jacob Vogtman, Lucas Chan, Nico Della Ratta, Summit Tahoma: https://youtu.be/-ono6KbCVLE