Patel Viraj V, Masyukova Mariya, Sutton Desmond, Horvath Keith J
Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 111 E. 210th Street, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA.
Department of Family and Social Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 3544 Jerome Ave, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA.
J Urban Health. 2016 Apr;93(2):388-99. doi: 10.1007/s11524-016-0025-1.
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.
在美国,与男性发生性关系的城市青年(YMSM)和变性女性的新发艾滋病毒感染率仍然很高,但目前的预防干预措施并未覆盖这一人群的大多数。青年群体中互联网和社交媒体的使用率很高。然而,为了接触最易感染艾滋病毒的人群——种族和族裔多样化的城市男男性行为者和变性者,并为他们量身定制技术驱动的干预措施,需要不断更新对社交媒体使用与艾滋病毒风险行为之间关联的认识。因此,我们在纽约市主要由黑人和拉丁裔男同性恋、双性恋及变性者光顾的场所,对年轻的男同性恋、双性恋及变性者进行了一项基于场所的面对面横断面调查,以了解社交媒体的使用情况及其与艾滋病毒风险行为的关系,为基于社交媒体的干预措施提供依据。在102名主要为黑人和拉丁裔的男同性恋、双性恋男性(75.5%)和变性女性(19.6%)中,超过90%的人年龄在30岁以下,18.6%的人报告在过去6个月中有过无家可归的经历,10.8%的人报告感染了艾滋病毒。所有参与者都使用社交媒体,大多数人最常通过移动设备访问这些平台(67.6%),且大多数人每天登录多次(87.3%)。参与者使用社交媒体寻找性伴侣(56.7%)、以性换钱或换衣服(19.6%)以及以性换毒品(9.8%)。这些结果证实了先前的研究,表明利用社交媒体平台接触高危城市青年的可行性。特别令人担忧的是近期性传播感染与以性换钱/衣服和毒品之间的关联。针对年轻的城市少数族裔男男性行为者和变性人群体的社交媒体干预措施应纳入针对交换性伴的风险降低模块,并促进定期进行艾滋病毒/性传播感染检测。