Reaching black men who have sex with men: a comparison between respondent-driven sampling and time-location sampling

Abstract

Objectives We explored whether respondent-driven sampling (RDS) can generate a more diverse sample of Black men who have sex with men (MSM) than time-location sampling (TLS) by comparing sample characteristics accrued by each method in two independent studies. Methods The first study exclusively recruited Black MSM through RDS (N=256) while the second recruited MSM through TLS including a subsample of Black MSM (N=69). Crude and adjusted point estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics, HIV prevalence, and prevalence of unrecognized infections, and were compared using the Z-test. Results The samples differed significantly regarding all socio-demographic and some behavioral characteristics. Compared to TLS, RDS estimated higher proportions of older, less educated, poorer, currently homeless and self-identified bisexual Black MSM. Participants in RDS were less likely to have a main partner, had fewer male partners, were more likely to have a female partner and have both male and female partners, and reported greater methamphetamine, crack and heroin use. Prevalence of HIV and unrecognized infections were slightly higher among RDS participants. Conclusions The RDS sample comprised Black MSM who were more diverse with respect to socio-demographic characteristics, and may also be at higher risk for HIV. Thus, RDS has advantages in reaching higher-risk Black MSM who are most hidden from intervention research and service delivery. Future studies of Black MSM using RDS could use steering strategies to recruit younger participants and other sub-groups of greatest interest to public health and prevention.

Hazardous alcohol use among transwomen in a Brazilian city

“…The Brazilian Ministry of Health adopted RDS for biological and behavioral surveillance for MSM. Comparing RDS to Time Location Sampling (TLS), another sampling method that may be used for hard-to-reach populations, RDS identified many more MSM in Fortaleza of low socioeconomic status 1,14 , a population with more public health relevance, and an outcome observed in other studies 14 . For these and other reasons, the Brazilian government 15 and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 16 , in the United States, recommend RDS as the method of choice for biological and behavioral and surveillance among key populations.…”

Evaluation of Respondent-Driven Sampling in a Study of Urban Young Men Who Have Sex with Men

“…In terms of age, the homophily indices were positive and relatively low for both 16-18-year-olds and 19-20-years-olds (i.e., homophily indices of 0.26 and 0.16, respectively); estimated network size was slightly larger for younger participants (mean=6.1 for those ages 16-18 versus 5.3 for those ages [19][20]. Population estimates mirror these statistics with adjustment down in the younger group and up in the older group to account for differences in homophily and network size (i.e., 42.4 % ages 16-18 in the sample versus 37 % in the population, 57.6 % ages 19-20 in the sample versus 63 % in the population, respectively).…”

“…Others have suggested that different research participation payment structures are needed to incentivize YMSM in particular, 18 given low rates of participation. An alternative system was developed for adult MSM (e.g., raffle with large cash prize) in an RDSbased study; 31 however, any increase in incentive payments would need to be balanced with concerns about undue influence and/or coercion, 1 particularly for 20 these violate the RDS assumption of random recruitment. The proportion of seeds to sprouts found herein is remarkably similar to a parallel study of sexual minority youth conducted in Chicago at the same time as this study, 32 which provides additional evidence regarding the difficulty of RDS sampling in similar populations.…”

“…Study enrollees were instructed to recruit up to three eligible peers (i.e., sexual minority young men ages [16][17][18][19][20]. While study "coupons" were distributed initially, due to lost coupons, among other coupon problems, 23 we modified the approach to include use of a participant-specific and unduplicated password system in which participants chose and then distributed passwords via text, email, or other means.…”

“…[14][15][16][17] Furthermore, RDS samples may overrepresent individuals of lower socioeconomic status (i.e., who may have more reason to participate due to the recruitment incentives), including individuals living with HIV or those with substance use problems. [18][19][20][21][22] In addition, because less community connectedness has been cited as a more recent problem in recruitment of MSM generally, 18 YMSM who are more connected to the "gay" community and/or have larger eligible network sizes may be more efficient recruiters, facilitating more efficient chain recruitment. Finally, connections to sexual partners via social venues versus virtual venues may also be related to recruitment efficiency.…”