Abstract
Methods of collecting behavioral surveillance data, including Web-based methods, have recently been explored in the United States. Questions have arisen as to what extent Internet recruitment methods yield samples of MSM comparable to those obtained using venue-based recruitment methods. We compare three recruitment methods among MSM with respect to demographic and risk behaviors, one sample was obtained using time location sampling at venues in San Francisco, one using a venue based like approach on the Internet and one using direct-marketing advertisements to recruit participants. The physical venue approach was most successful in completing interviews with approached men than both Internet approaches. Respondents recruited via the three methods reported slight differences in risk behavior. Direct marketing internet recruitment can obtain large samples of MSM in a short time.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bowen, A., Williams, M., & Horvath, K. (2004). Using the Internet to recruit rural MSM for HIV risk assessment: Sampling issues. AIDS and Behavior, 8(3), 311–319. doi:10.1023/B:AIBE.0000044078.43476.1f.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2005). HIV prevalence, unrecognized infection, and HIV testing among men who have sex with men—five U.S. cities, June 2004–April 2005. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 54, 597–601.
Couper, M. P. (2007). Issues of representation in eHealth research (with a focus on Web surveys). American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32(5S), S83–S89. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2007.01.017.
Couper, M. P., Traugott, M. W., & Lamias, M. J. (2001). Web survey design and administration. Public Opinion Quarterly, 65, 230–253. doi:10.1086/322199.
Elford, J., Bolding, G., Davis, M., Sherr, L., & Hart, G. (2004a). Web-based behavioral surveillance among men who have sex with men: A comparison of online and offline samples in London, UK. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 35(4), 421–426. doi:10.1097/00126334-200404010-00012.
Elford, J., Bolding, G., Davis, M., Sherr, L., & Hart, G. (2004b). The Internet and HIV study: Design and methods. BMC Public Health, 4, 39. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-4-39.
Evans, A. R., Wiggins, R. D., Mercer, C. H., Bolding, G. J., & Elford, J. (2007). Men who have sex with men in Great Britain: Comparison of a self-selected Internet sample with a national probability sample. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 83(3), 200–205. doi:10.1136/sti.2006.023283.
Gosling, S. D., Vazire, S., Srivastava, S., & John, O. P. (2004). Should we trust Web-based studies? A comparative analysis of six preconceptions about Internet questionnaires. The American Psychologist, 59(2), 93–104. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.59.2.93.
Heckathorn, D. (1997). Respondent-driven sampling: A new approach to the study of hidden population. Social Problems, 44(2), 174–199. doi:10.1525/sp.1997.44.2.03x0221m.
Hidaka, Y., Ichikawa, S., Koyano, J., Urao, M., Yasuo, T., Kimura, H., et al. (2006). Substance use and sexual behaviors of Japanese men who have sex with men: A nationwide Internet survey conducted in Japan. BMC Public Health, 6, 239. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-6-239.
Katz, M. H., Schwarcz, S. K., Kellogg, T. A., et al. (2002). Impact of highly active antiretroviral treatment on HIV seroincidence among men who have sex with men: San Francisco. American Journal of Public Health, 92(3), 1–9. doi:10.2105/AJPH.92.3.388.
Lemp, G. F., Hirozawa, A. M., Givertz, D., Nieri, G. N., Anderson, L., Lindegren, M. L., et al. (1994). Seroprevalence of HIV and risk behaviors among young homosexual and bisexual men. The San Francisco/Berkeley young men’s survey. Journal of the American Medical Association, 272, 449–454. doi:10.1001/jama.272.6.449.
MacKellar, D., Gallagher, K., Finlayson, T., Sanchez, T., Lansky, A., & Sullivan, P. (2007). Surveillance of HIV risk and prevention behaviors of men who have sex with men—a national application of venue-based, time-space sampling. Public Health Reports, 122(Suppl 1), 39–47.
MacKellar, D., Valleroy, L., Karon, J., Lemp, G., & Janssen, R. (1996). The young men’s survey: Methods for estimating HIV seroprevalence and risk factors among men who have sex with men. Public Health Reports, 111(Suppl 1), 138–144.
Magnani, R., Sabin, K., Saidel, T., & Heckathorn, D. (2005). Review of sampling hard-to-reach populations for HIV surveillance. AIDS (London, England), 19(Suppl 2), S67–S72. doi:10.1097/01.aids.0000172879.20628.e1.
Mustanski, B. S. (2001). Getting wired: Exploiting the Internet for the collection of valid sexuality data. Journal of Sex Research, 38(4), 292–301.
Mustanski, B. S. (2007). Are sexual partners met online associated with HIV/STI risk behaviors? Retrospective and daily diary data in conflict. AIDS Care, 19(6), 822–827. doi:10.1080/09540120701237244.
Pequegnat, W., et al. (2007). Conducting Internet-based HIV/STD prevention survey research: Considerations in design and evaluation. AIDS and Behavior, 11, 505–521. doi:10.1007/s10461-006-9172-9.
Pollack, L. M., Osmond, D. H., Paul, J. P., & Catania, J. A. (2005). Evaluation of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s HIV Behavioral Surveillance of men who have sex with men: Sampling issues. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 32(9), 581–589. doi:10.1097/01.olq.0000175419.02839.d6.
Rhodes, S. D., DiClemente, R. J., Cecil, H., Hergenrather, K. C., & Yee, L. J. (2002). Risk among men who have sex with men in the United States: A comparison of an Internet and a conventional outreach sample. AIDS Education and Prevention, 14(1), 41–50. doi:10.1521/aeap.14.1.41.24334.
Ross, M. W., Tikkanen, R., & Mansson, S. A. (2000). Differences between Internet samples and conventional samples of men who have sex with men: Implications for research and HIV interventions. Social Science & Medicine, 51(5), 749–758. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(99)00493-1.
Rosser, B. R., et al. (2008). HIV risk and the Internet: Results of the Men’s INTernet Sex (MINTS) Study. AIDS and Behavior. doi:10.1007/s10461-008-9399-8.
Truong, H. H., Kellogg, T., Klausner, J. D., et al. (2006). Increases in sexually transmitted infections and sexual risk behavior without a concurrent increase in HIV incidence among men who have sex with men in San Francisco: A suggestion of HIV serosorting. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 82(6), 461–469. doi:10.1136/sti.2006.019950.
Valleroy, L., et al. (2000). HIV prevalence and associated risks in young men who have sex with men. Journal of the American Medical Association, 284(2), 198–204. doi:10.1001/jama.284.2.198.
Wang, Q., & Ross, M. W. (2002). Differences between chat room and e-mail sampling approaches in Chinese men who have sex with men. AIDS Education and Prevention, 14, 361–366. doi:10.1521/aeap.14.6.361.24081.
Zhang, D., Bi, P., Lv, F., Tang, H., Zhang, J., & Hiller, J. E. (2007). Internet use and risk behaviors: An online survey of visitors to three gay websites in China. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 83(7), 571–576. doi:10.1136/sti.2007.026138.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Raymond, H.F., Rebchook, G., Curotto, A. et al. Comparing Internet-Based and Venue-Based Methods to Sample MSM in the San Francisco Bay Area. AIDS Behav 14, 218–224 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-009-9521-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-009-9521-6