Including Online-Recruited Seeds: A Respondent-Driven Sample of Men Who Have Sex With Men

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dc.contributor.authorLachowsky, Nathan J.
dc.contributor.authorLal, Allan
dc.contributor.authorForrest, Jamie I.
dc.contributor.authorCard, Kiffer George
dc.contributor.authorCui, Zishan
dc.contributor.authorSereda, Paul
dc.contributor.authorRich, Ashleigh
dc.contributor.authorRaymond, Henry Fisher
dc.contributor.authorRoth, Eric A.
dc.contributor.authorMoore, David M.
dc.contributor.authorHogg, Robert S.
dc.date.accessioned2022-04-01T16:06:22Z
dc.date.available2022-04-01T16:06:22Z
dc.date.copyright2016en_US
dc.date.issued2016
dc.descriptionThe authors would like to thank the Momentum Study participants, office staff and community advisory board, as well as our community partner agencies, Health Initiative for Men, YouthCo HIV and Hep C Society, and Positive Living Society of BC.en_US
dc.description.abstractBackground: Technology has changed the way men who have sex with men (MSM) seek sex and socialize, which may impact the implementation of respondent-driven sampling (RDS) among this population. Initial participants (also known as seeds) are a critical consideration in RDS because they begin the recruitment chains. However, little information is available on how the online-recruited seeds may effect RDS implementation. Objective: The objectives of this study were to compare (1) online-recruited versus offline-recruited seeds and (2) subsequent recruitment chains of online-recruited versus offline-recruited seeds. Methods: Between 2012 and 2014, we recruited MSM using RDS in Vancouver, Canada. RDS weights were used with logistic regression to address each objective. Results: A total of 119 seeds were used, 85 of whom were online-recruited seeds, to recruit an additional 600 MSM. Compared with offline-recruited seeds, online-recruited seeds were less likely to be HIV-positive (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.13-0.88), to have attended a gay community group (AOR 0.33, 95% CI 0.12-0.90), and to feel gay community involvement was “very important” (AOR 0.16, 95% CI 0.03-0.93). Online-recruited seeds were more likely to ask a sexual partner’s HIV status always versus <50% of the time (AOR 5.21, 95% CI 1.17-23.23), to have watched the Pride parade (AOR 6.30, 95% CI 1.69-23.45), and to have sought sex online (AOR 4.29, 95% CI 1.53-12-12.05). Further, compared with recruitment chains started by offline-recruited seeds, recruits from chains started by online-recruited seeds (283/600, 47.2%) were less likely to be HIV-positive (AOR 0.25, 95% CI 0.16-0.40), to report “versatile” versus “bottom” sexual position preference (AOR 0.56, 95% CI 0.35-0.88), and to be in a relationship lasting >1 year (AOR 1.65, 95% CI 1.06-2.56). Recruits of online seeds were more likely to be out as gay for longer (eg, 11-21 vs 1-4 years, AOR 2.22, 95% CI 1.27-3.88) and have fewer Facebook friends (eg, 201-500 vs >500, AOR 1.69, 95% CI 1.02-2.80). Conclusions: Online-recruited seeds were more prevalent, recruited fewer participants, but were different from those recruited offline. This may therefore help create a more diverse overall sample. Our work has shown the value of geosocial networking apps for aiding RDS recruitment efforts, especially when faced with slow participation uptake by other means. Understanding the degree to which networks interact will be an important next step in confirming the efficacy of online RDS recruitment strategies.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipMomentum is funded through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA031055-01A1) and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (MOP-107544). NJL is supported by a CANFAR/CTN Postdoctoral Fellowship Award. DMM is supported by a Scholar Award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (#5209).en_US
dc.identifier.citationLachowsky, N. J., Lal, A., Forrest, J. I., Card, K. G., Cui, Z., Sereda, P., Rich, A., Raymond, H. F., Roth, E. A., Moore, D. M., & Hogg, R. S. (2016). “Including Online- Recruited Seeds: A Respondent-Driven Sample of Men Who Have Sex With Men.” Journal of Medical Internet Research, 18(3), e51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.5258en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.5258
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/13832
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherJournal of Medical Internet Researchen_US
dc.subjectmen who have sex with men
dc.subjectrespondent driven sampling
dc.subjectHIV/AIDS
dc.subjectonline recruitment
dc.subjectInternet
dc.subjectCentre for Addictions Research of BC (CARBC)
dc.subjectCanadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR)
dc.subject.departmentSchool of Public Health and Social Policy
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Anthropology
dc.titleIncluding Online-Recruited Seeds: A Respondent-Driven Sample of Men Who Have Sex With Menen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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