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3B4 There's an App for That: Using Geo-Social Networking Apps to Access Young MSM at Risk for HIV

Thursday, September 22, 2016: 11:30 AM
Salon B
Errol Fields, MD PhD MPH, Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, Anthony Morgan, AS, Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, Renata Arrington-Sanders, MD, MPH, ScM, Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD and Jacky Jennings, PhD, Center for Child and Community Health Research, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

     

Background:  Young Black MSM (YBMSM) carry a disproportionate HIV burden in the US. Targeted HIV control strategies designed to link those at greatest risk for transmission/acquisition to treatment/prevention services are needed.  Geo-social networking applications (GSN-apps) have been described as environments that facilitate HIV risk among users, but may also be important access points for identifying those at-risk. We conducted interviews among YBMSM GSN-app users to determine acceptability and feasibility of using these sites to access at-risk youth. 

Methods:  We actively recruited YBMSM (n=17) age 18-24 (mean=21.5/SD=1.8) from the most frequently reported GSN-app for meeting sex partners by newly diagnosed HIV-infected MSM in Baltimore. Participants were recruited while logged-on in social venues or census tracts previously identified as high HIV transmission areas using surveillance and community viral load data. Participants completed 60-90 minute semi-structured interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and uploaded in NVivo10.  Interview data were analyzed using categorical analysis including a 3-stage analytic coding strategy and were double-coded until consistency between coders was achieved as measured by Cohen’s Kappa. 

Results:  Three themes emerged about using GSN-apps to engage YBMSM.  First, participants consistently describe GSN-apps as an acceptable medium for contacting YBMSM about HIV prevention/treatment, noting increased opportunities to reach populations that are younger, less knowledgeable about HIV risk, or less aware of available treatment/prevention services.  Second, participants described direct communication about HIV/STI exposure from public health professionals, advertisements for local HIV/STI testing, and peer outreach by other YBMSM as acceptable communication strategies.  Third, GSN-apps are “clubs that never close” and potentially offer 24-hour access to youth unparalleled by other venue-based strategies. 

Conclusions:  GSN-apps, with technologies supporting varied mechanisms of communication, have great potential as tools for identifying and engaging at-risk YBMSM. While not fettered by limitations of other venues, additional work is needed to understand limitations specific to this medium and maximize its potential. 

See more of: Making Networks Work for STD Prevention in MSM
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