Urban young men who have sex
with men (YMSM) and transgender women continue to experience high rates of new
HIV infections in the USA, yet most of this population is not reached by
current prevention interventions. The rate of Internet and social media use
among youth is high. However, continually updated understanding of the
associations between social media access and use and HIV risk behaviors is
needed to reach and tailor technology-delivered interventions for those most
vulnerable to HIV-racially and ethnically diverse urban YMSM and transgender
persons. Thus, we conducted an in-person, venue-based cross-sectional survey
among young gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals at locations primarily
visited by Black and Latino gay and bisexual and transgender individuals in New
York City to understand social media use and how it may relate to HIV risk
behaviors to inform social media-based interventions.
Among 102 primarily Black and Latino gay and bisexual men (75.5 %) and transgender women (19.6 %), over 90 % were under 30 years of age, 18.6 % reported homelessness in the past 6 months, and 10.8 % reported having HIV. All participants used social media, most accessed these platforms most often via a mobile device (67.6 %) and most logged on multiple times per day (87.3 %).
Participants used social media to seek sex partners (56.7 %), exchange sex for money or clothes (19.6 %), and exchange sex for drugs (9.8 %). These results confirm prior studies demonstrating the feasibility of using social media platforms to reach at-risk, urban youth. Of particular concern is the association between recent STI and exchanging sex for money/clothes and drugs.
Interventions using social media for young, urban minority MSM and transgender populations should incorporate risk reduction modules addressing exchange partners and promote frequent and regular HIV/STI testing.
Among 102 primarily Black and Latino gay and bisexual men (75.5 %) and transgender women (19.6 %), over 90 % were under 30 years of age, 18.6 % reported homelessness in the past 6 months, and 10.8 % reported having HIV. All participants used social media, most accessed these platforms most often via a mobile device (67.6 %) and most logged on multiple times per day (87.3 %).
Participants used social media to seek sex partners (56.7 %), exchange sex for money or clothes (19.6 %), and exchange sex for drugs (9.8 %). These results confirm prior studies demonstrating the feasibility of using social media platforms to reach at-risk, urban youth. Of particular concern is the association between recent STI and exchanging sex for money/clothes and drugs.
Interventions using social media for young, urban minority MSM and transgender populations should incorporate risk reduction modules addressing exchange partners and promote frequent and regular HIV/STI testing.
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By:
- 1Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 111 E. 210th Street, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA. vpatel@montefiore.org.
- 2Department of Family and Social Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 3544 Jerome Ave, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA. marimasy@montefiore.org.
- 3Alpert School of Medicine, Brown University, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, 101 Dudley Street, Providence, RI, 02905, USA. desmond_sutton@brown.edu.
- 4Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, 1300 South Second Street, #300, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA. khorvath@umn.edu.
- J Urban Health. 2016 Mar 2.
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