Gay Men’s Sexual Health Promotion in Virtual Space: Exploring Stakeholders’ Attitudes and Approaches to Outreach on Mobile Apps in Nova Scotia

Abstract

HIV infections are still are a concern for many gay men in Canada despite prevention efforts. Social networking applications (SNAs) have predominantly been where gay men meet for sexual encounters. Grindr is the most common app used, which is a GPS-enabled SNA that was released in 2009. In Nova Scotia, there is a culture of silence in the gay community surrounding HIV/AIDS discourses. It is suggested that the perspective of professional stakeholders in sexually transmitted and blood borne infections (STBBI) prevention is needed to enhance prevention efforts. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the perspectives of service providers regarding STBBI risk on one SNA for gay men. Key stakeholders in this current study were sexual health service providers working in Nova Scotia. Four stakeholders were interviewed as part of a larger study. Secondary thematic analysis was employed to examine this data for this research project. The interviewed stakeholders experienced outreach challenges because of the "changed landscape" of online partner finding. Stakeholders have an interest in accessing these spaces for prevention and suggest that online forums such as Grindr can be used for sexual health prevention aimed at gay men. Further, leaders in the gay men's community may be able to help service providers understand the implications and potential contributions of sexual health promotion efforts.