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Social Media Use and HIV Transmission Risk Behavior Among Ethnically Diverse HIV-Positive Gay Men: Results of an Online Study in Three U.S. States

  • Special Section: Sexual Health in Gay and Bisexual Men
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Abstract

Though Black and Hispanic men who have sex with men (MSM) are at an increased risk for HIV, few HIV risk reduction interventions that target HIV-positive MSM, and even fewer that use technology, have been designed to target these groups. Despite similar rates of social media and technology use across racial/ethnic groups, online engagement of minority MSM for HIV prevention efforts is low. Since minority MSM tend to have less representation in online HIV prevention studies, the goals of this online anonymous study of HIV-positive gay-identified men were to test the feasibility of conducting targeted recruitment by race/ethnicity and sexual orientation, to assess technology and social media use, and to assess global HIV transmission risk. In 2011, an anonymous online survey was conducted among 463 members of an HIV-positive personals website. Emails were sent to a subset of HIV-positive male members who self-identified as gay. While 57 % were White, substantial proportions of participants were Black (20 %) or Hispanic (18 %). Median age was 46 (range 18–79). Men who reported using 3 or more websites or apps to meet sex partners were significantly more likely to report anal intercourse (AOR 4.43, p < .001) and condomless anal sex (CAS) (AOR 2.70, p < .05) in the past 3 months. The only predictor of CAS with HIV-negative or unknown status partners was being under age 30 (AOR 3.38, p < .01). This study helped to inform online targeted recruitment techniques, access to technology and social media use, and sexual risk among a diverse sample of HIV-positive gay men. Efficacy trials of technology-based HIV prevention interventions targeting high-risk minority HIV-positive MSM are warranted.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Martin J. Downing, Jr. for his assistance with prior versions of the manuscript, and Smart + Strong for their support with online targeted recruitment. This project was funded by Public Health Solutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research and Evaluation Unit, Public Health Solutions, 40 Worth Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY, 10013, USA

    Sabina Hirshfield & Mary Ann Chiasson

  2. Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), New York, NY, USA

    Christian Grov & Jeffrey T. Parsons

  3. Health and Nutrition Sciences, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, USA

    Christian Grov

  4. The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), New York, NY, USA

    Christian Grov & Jeffrey T. Parsons

  5. Department of Psychology, Hunter College, New York, NY, USA

    Jeffrey T. Parsons

  6. Smart + Strong, New York, NY, USA

    Ian Anderson

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  1. Sabina Hirshfield
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  2. Christian Grov
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Correspondence to Sabina Hirshfield.

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Hirshfield, S., Grov, C., Parsons, J.T. et al. Social Media Use and HIV Transmission Risk Behavior Among Ethnically Diverse HIV-Positive Gay Men: Results of an Online Study in Three U.S. States. Arch Sex Behav 44, 1969–1978 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0513-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0513-5

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