The 'Kent C Card' app won the ‘best use of mobile’ category at the national CorpComms Magazine Digital awards on Tuesday 10 July in London. The judges described the app as 'a great idea around a tough but important subject area' and praised it as being, ‘simple, effective and brilliant.’.
The app gives people aged 19 and under the information they need on how and where to get free condoms using their C Card – a successful community-based contraception scheme set up in 2007.
Phil Karnavas, Headteacher of the Canterbury Academy, said: “Although they will never know how many they have helped, countless numbers of teenagers will have better lives because they did not end up with an unwanted pregnancy or STI thanks to the C Card scheme. This phone app will ensure that young people will be able to get the information and the services that they need at a very important time in their lives.”
The app uses active maps to direct teenagers to the nearest outlet offering free condoms to anyone registered with the scheme. It also offers advice on how to register for the card, where to get contraception in an emergency, and information about getting treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
The app also features a series of short films made by Thanet College students about teen pregnancy, called ‘FML – use a condom’.
The C Card is run by Kent Community Health NHS Trust and anyone who wants to register with the scheme must first attend an appointment with a trained advisor. The condoms are given out by sexual health clinics, pharmacies, youth schemes and some school nurses. The card can be used 20 times before an appointment is needed to re-register for a new card.
When youngsters register they are told about the app which can then be downloaded free of charge by searching for ‘Kent C Card’ in the app store.
To date the app has been downloaded more than 700 times across all platforms, and has been used more than 4,500 times. Reviews in all three app stores are extremely positive, with a 100 per cent five star ratings in iTunes.
Full details of the award can be found here:
http://www.corpcommsmagazine.co.uk/awards/digi/winning-entries
16 July 2012
