Blue Mountain Clinic hotline goes tech: ASKMAP delivers sexual health questions via text and web

Early in July, Blue Mountain Clinic launched ASKMAP, an SMS (text) and web-based hotline for teens' sexual health questions.  The goal of the service is to provide reproductive/sexual health information, education and resources to a generation that is technologically connected in essence to reach teenagers on their turf.  For health care educators, getting consistent, accurate and relevant information to teens is an ongoing challenge fraught with myriad barriers.  ASKMAP reduces many of these barriers by using the technology that virtually every teen uses virtually every day. Teens can send or text a question confidentially and anonymously, get answers and resources from trusted, trained adults, in a technological medium that is culturally appropriate to them and reduces shame and embarrassment.

For more information, check out ASKMAP at www.askmap.info.

Billboards touting the service are up in Hamilton, Kalispell and Butte, and ASKMAP has been highlighted by media across the region, including The Missoulian and various radio and television stations.

ASKMAP is a service of the Montana Access Project (MAP), an initiative of Blue Mountain Clinic since 2008, which seeks to increase access to accurate health care information and services. The specific goals of MAP are to: reduce informational and financial barriers; increase awareness of closest geographic points of care and resources; build culturally sensitive prevention models; and improve access to high quality abortion care.