Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Nov 11, 2023
Date Accepted: Aug 23, 2024
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Social media platform recruitment of video and mobile voluntary HIV testing during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional research design
ABSTRACT
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to social distancing policies and misinformation that limit in-person HIV screening for high-risk groups. Social media platform provides more options for voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT) to overcome the previously mentioned limitations. However, its recruitment and result of performing HIV testing is limited.
Objective:
To measure the completion rate of video VCT and face-to-face mobile VCT which were recruited through social media platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic, and compare the geographic distribution, risk feature targeting, and testing outcome between the two models.
Methods:
The study covered the period from March 3, 2021, to December 31, 2021, while encountering the COVID-19 outbreak and pandemic in Taiwan. Used social media platforms to recruit participants who engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse, and provided mobile or online video HIV testing. After one-to-one message discussion, mobile or video VCT was provided by the well-trained research assistant according to whether the participants could or could not undergo face-to-face screening.
Results:
A total of 5142 reaches on the social media platforms and 1187 participants were recruited. The online video VCT had a 31.8% (207/651) completion rate, higher than the 21.8% (980/4491) rate of in-person mobile testing. The completion rates for both models are higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic. The recruitment of referring by friends and instant messaging applications (Line app), and Geosocial Network (GSN) dating apps (e.g. Hornet, Grindr, and Gsland) have higher acceptance and completion rates than the recruitment through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The mobile VCT focused on high-risk urban groups and has a higher screening density, while online video reached wider geographic areas. After adjusting the testing site, the mobile group was less likely to meet sexual partners via social media (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.280-0.779; P=.004), was more likely to have had more than 10 sexual partners (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.050-3.499; P=.03), had experience with sex work (OR 4.19, 95% CI 1.680-10.429; P=.002) and sexually transmitted diseases (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.177-4.225; P=.01) within the past three months. HIV positive rate was 0.7 % in the mobile group and 1.0 % in the video group, both higher than the year before COVID-19.
Conclusions:
Social media recruitment increased accessibility and enabled targeted HIV screening through both mobile and online video modalities during the pandemic. Clinical Trial: This research did not apply the trail registration.
Citation
