Can tech really de-stigmatise STIs? The founders of Zults think so
The founders of sexual health app Zults tell Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse how technology could change the future of STI testing, one result at a time.
STIs are on the rise. The increasing number of cases is a global phenomenon affecting absolutely every sexually active person on the planet, regardless of their gender, age, or sexuality. It’s such a huge problem, in fact, that over one million new cases of chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhoea are recorded daily according to the latest WHO figures – and no one’s all too sure why it’s happening, just that it is.
The only advice experts have been able to give so far is for people to take proactive steps to protect themselves, namely by getting tested and speaking to sexual partners about STIs you or they may have been exposed to. But that’s embarrassing, isn’t it? Let’s not lie. We can all say we want to be open and confident about it, but that’s easier said than done. Or is it?
Challenges of communicating STI results
Like so many other aspects of our lives, the solution to this problem may lie in tech. That’s what entrepreneur Georgia Di Mattos and former NHS sonographer Bianca Dunne believe anyway – and I’m inclined to agree with them.
When cases of STIs began to increase around five years ago, the pair knew they could do something about it. And thus, Zults was born. The concept of the app is quite simple, and that’s where its brilliance lies; an STI results sharing app that allows users to transfer their latest test results securely to their sexual partners and also request theirs in response.
What it boils down to is this; If someone doesn't want to share their results with you when it’s that easy, they're obviously not the person that you want to sleep with.
“Condoms reduce the chance of getting an STI – everyone knows that! And there are clinics everywhere and getting tested is easy and free in the UK,” Bianca Dunne tells me.
“But what's the point in you checking in, getting yourself tested and doing all that, and then not communicating your results to a potential partner?
“Most people do stop their STI prevention at the test, failing to follow through with communication so that's the barrier. That’s what told us how we were going to fix this.”
Logging onto the app, it couldn’t be easier to use. Your results are sent straight from the NHS provider you’ve been tested with, guaranteeing they’re correct and trustworthy, and that’s all there is to it. You then get to download the results onto a snazzy, colourful little ecard that can be sent to those you want to see it.
Encouraging proactive STI testing
This was the aim, this ease of use, and Georgia Di Mattos found inspiration for Zults’ simple functionality in the unlikeliest of places. “We were really inspired by Monzo, the banking app,” she said. “It lets you split bills and you can request money without having to send an awkward text to your friends. You know, sex and money are similar in that talking about them both is awkward and people find it pretty embarrassing. So you might cringe about money, or STI results, but you can talk about it through your app to depersonalise that conversation a bit.”
But it’s not just talking about STI results that Zults wants you to do. In order to use the app, you need to first get tested. Then, your results can only be used for up to six months, prompting you to get tested again, something that people don’t often do. “When people normally get tested, they’re only doing it because they’re worried they’ve put themselves in danger and have already caught something. We want people to test proactively and keep on top of those results so they always know they’re a safe partner for others to be with,” Georgia explains.
Limitations of STI testing
However, the pair both recognise that Zults is not a be all and end all solution to the increasing number of recorded STI cases. For one, as Georgia points out, “A person can be negative now, but tomorrow, can go and have sex with someone and be positive.” But the major hindrance is the nature of current STI testing.
“Talking about sex and money is awkward, but doing it through an app depersonalises it”
Home-testing kits for STIs are the most common, and often the only, option for STI testing through the NHS and that means there’s no way Zults can guarantee 100% that a person has done the test themselves and is fully clean. But the app can only be used with the NHS link assigned to the same phone number that the app is downloaded onto and, thanks to their status as a medical app, if a user lies about the results, they will be committing a prosecutable crime.
“What we are doing is minimising risks,” Georgia explains. “We're not saying that the app is a way for you to have unprotected sex. This is just one more layer to help people minimise risks as you do when you use a condom, or undertake proactive testing, or know your partner's status and your status.”
Expanding Zults' impact
It’s important to remember that the app is only in its infancy, right now. Georgia and Bianca have plans for its future – big plans. Sobig in fact that they’re currently too ambitious to pull off. It’s not an unmomentous task they’re trying to complete; eradicating STIs and removing the stigma that’s been associated with them for centuries. But there’s stuff in the pipeline.
Georgia Di Mattos and Bianca Dunne, co-founders of Zults (credit: Jude Edginton)
“We have plans to engage with other testing providers. We want someone to be able to go and get tested in a clinic by a professional, meaning you can certify that person. But that means changing the way the whole country goes about STI testing. Still, we’re getting an incredibly positive response from the sector, so hopefully you'll see more things from us in the next year.”
For now, conversation is their focus – oh, and getting dating apps involved.
“I just want to shout out to any dating apps, please get in touch with us,” Bianca quips, with Georgia adding,“A responsible dating app should facilitate, actively, a conversation about STI results. It gives more power to the individual and makes the process of dating a better experience for everyone but opening up conversation.”
“That’s what we want to do,” Bianca concluded. “Zults just gets people to have the conversation. Then, when you’ve got someone’s results, it's up to you what you want to do. I might send you my results and you look at it and you're like, ‘Well, they're two months old. It's not good enough for me. I want you to get retested again.’ But the conversation's done. And you’ll feel better, and be safer.”
So…Can I see your rezults?