2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

336699
HIV risk behaviors: A comparison of young men who have sex with men recruited from traditional sources and online sites


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Krystal Madkins, MPH, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Brian Mustanski, PhD, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
George Greene, PhD, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Patrick Sullivan, DVM, PhD, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Katie Andrews, MA, MEd, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Jeffrey T. Parsons, PhD, Department of Psychology and the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), New York, NY
Background: HIV infections are increasing among young men who have sex with men (YMSM), however few HIV prevention programs have proven effective for this population. Keep It Up! (KIU!), an online HIV prevention program tailored to YMSM, was developed to fill this gap. The KIU! 2.0 randomized control trial was launched to establish intervention efficacy.

Methods: Participants are recruited from HIV testing community based organizations (CBOs) in Atlanta, Chicago, and New York, and online advertisements on social networking sites (SNSs) and geosocial dating apps. At baseline, participants self-report HIV risks and complete at-home testing for rectal and urethral chlamydia and gonorrhea. Currently, 80% of a target sample of 750 YMSM has been enrolled.

Results: The sample was recruited from diverse recruitment sources: 46% from dating apps, 46% from CBOs, and 8% from SNSs. Participants recruited from SNSs had a significantly higher mean of receptive condomless anal sex (CAS) acts with casual partners when compared to participants recruited from CBOs and geosocial dating apps (2.80 vs. 1.45 vs. 1.35; p = .02). There was no significant difference by recruitment source in the number of insertive CAS acts, number of sex partners, drug use before sex, or sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence.

Conclusions: Recruitment from a variety of sources is feasible for online HIV prevention programs tailored to YMSM. Participants across recruitment sources appear to be comparable in HIV risk behaviors and STI prevalence.

Learning Areas:

Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs

Learning Objectives:
Describe the similarities and differences in HIV risks in a sample of YMSM recruited from community based organizations and online sites. Discuss implications for future HIV prevention studies that recruit from online sources.

Keyword(s): HIV/AIDS, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT)

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the project coordinator for the federally funded Keep It Up! RCT - an online HIV prevention for YMSM. I have been involved in the planning and implementation of recruitment strategies. My research interests are in the epidemiology and prevention of STIs and HIV among vulnerable populations.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2035.0: Sexual Behavior and HIV