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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Catching lightning in a bottle: the STI and HIV 2023 World Congress Participatory Designathon

Ronnie M. Gravett https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1614-758X A * , Rayner K. J. Tan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9188-3368 B , Weiming Tang https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9026-707X C D , Steph Niapauri E , Barbara Van Der Pol https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3064-8564 A and Joseph D. Tucker https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2804-1181 C D F
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.

B Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.

C Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

D Dermatology Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

E Grindr for Equality, Grindr, Washington, DC, USA.

F Clinical Research Department, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

* Correspondence to: rgravett@uabmc.edu

Handling Editor: Heather Armstrong

Sexual Health 21, SH23205 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH23205
Submitted: 10 January 2024  Accepted: 11 March 2024  Published: 26 March 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

The International Society for STD Research (ISSTDR) STI/HIV 2023 World Congress convened a participatory designathon to engage attendees in a problem-solving crowdsourcing event with the mission to design innovative solutions for improving sexually transmitted infection (STI) control. Designathons are three-phase crowdsourcing events consisting of a pre-planning phase, an active and intensive collaborative phase, and denouement phase for implementation and dissemination. Given escalating STI concerns, the Congress organisers recognised the opportunity to harness the collective expertise of the attendees by actively engaging them to generate innovative solutions for STI control by hosting a designathon during the scientific meeting. Designathon activities occurred during the Congress, and innovative solutions were presented during the closing plenary. Organisers prioritised participant diversity and engagement by creating four distinct groups based on lived experiences (Silver, Early Career, Traveller, and Community). Although competing priorities through the Congress were a challenge, participation from the attendees was high. Dedicated time and space for the event allowed for a successful designathon event, and the lack of restrictions, as might be encountered from funders or other stakeholder agencies, allowed participants to creatively develop innovative solutions for STI control. This designathon serves as an exemplar for successfully hosting a designathon at a large scientific meeting to engage attendees and contribute their intellect and voice to collectively solving significant problems.

Keywords: community-engagement, conference, crowdsourcing, designathon, health innovations, HIV, methodological issues, public health, sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

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