Recruiting a US National Sample of HIV-Negative Gay and Bisexual Men to Complete at-Home Self-Administered HIV/STI Testing and Surveys: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

We describe enrollment for the One Thousand Strong panel, present characteristics of the panel relative to other large U.S. national studies of gay and bisexual men (GBM), and examine demographic and behavioral characteristics that were associated with passing enrollment milestones. A U.S. national sample of HIV-negative men were enrolled via an established online panel of over 22,000 GBM. Participants (n = 1071) passed three milestones to join our panel. Milestone 1 was screening eligible and providing informed consent. Milestone 2 involved completing an hour-long at-home computer-assisted self-interview (CASI) survey. Milestone 3 involved completing at-home self-administered rapid HIV testing and collecting/returning urine and rectal samples for gonorrhea and chlamydia testing. Compared to those who completed milestones: those not passing milestone 1 were more likely to be non-White and older; those not passing milestone 2 were less likely to have insurance or a primary care physician; and those not passing milestone 3 were less educated, more likely to be bisexual as opposed to gay, more likely to live in the Midwest, had fewer male partners in the past year, and less likely to have tested for HIV in the past year. Effect sizes for significant findings were small. We successfully enrolled a national sample of HIV-negative GBM who completed at-home CASI assessments and at-home self-administered HIV and urine and rectal STI testing. This indicates high feasibility and acceptability of incorporating self-administered biological assays into otherwise fully online studies. Differences in completion of study milestones indicate a need for further investigation into the reasons for lower engagement by certain groups.

Using Online Settings to Identify Gay and Bisexual Men Willing to Take or With Experience Taking PrEP: Implications for Researchers and Providers

“…The consent rate for our study varied greatly by recruitment source and this deserves further consideration as we do not have data on those who declined to participate. It is noteworthy, however, that our response rates were within the ranges reported by many online studies of gay and bisexual men (Grov, Cain, et al, 2016). …”

HIV Testing Among Internet-Using MSM in the United States: Systematic Review

“…For instance, men who have financial means to test but do not wish to visit clinics or healthcare providers due to concerns about privacy, stigma, or due to inconvenience may be more receptive to testing at home with a kit purchased online [72–74]. …”

Distinguishing hypothetical willingness from behavioral intentions to initiate HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): Findings from a large cohort of gay and bisexual men in the U.S.

“…One Thousand Strong is a longitudinal study prospectively following a national cohort of GBM across the U.S. for a period of 3 years, with many of the details described elsewhere (Grov et al, 2016a; Grov et al, 2016b). Participants were identified through a Community Marketing and Insights, Inc. (http://communitymarketinginc.com/) panel of over 22,000 GBM throughout the United States.…”