Use of Smartphone to Seek Sexual Health Information Online Among Malaysian Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM): Implications for mHealth Intervention to Increase HIV Testing and Reduce HIV Risks

Abstract

Background:In settings where stigma and discrimination toward men who have sex with men (MSM) are high or illegal, like in Malaysia, innovative methods to anonymously reach them are urgently needed. The near ubiquitous availability of mobile technology, including smartphones, has the potential to open new frontiers (such as mHealth) to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The extent to which MSM use mHealth tools for HIV and STI prevention in the Malaysia context, however, is unknown. Methods:A cross-sectional online survey in 622 Malaysian MSM was conducted between July and November 2017. Participants were recruited via advertisements on mobile apps frequently used by MSM. In addition to demographic, smartphone access and utilization, and other information were assessed using logistic regression to determine factors associated with the use of a smartphone to search for online sexual health information.Terms of use and reuse: academic research for non-commercial purposes, see here for full terms. https://www.springer.com/aamterms-v1

Using individual stated-preferences to optimize HIV self-testing service delivery among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Malaysia: results from a conjoint-based analysis

“…This method also provides the users with technical support, counseling, and referrals for further HIV testing services, HIV prevention, care and treatment, and other services, including psychosocial, legal support, and violence support, as demonstrated in prior research [19,49,50]. This finding, along with the evidence that a large proportion of Malaysian MSM have access to smartphones [10], emphasizes the potential for a telephone hotline or smartphone app-based (e.g., WhatsApp message) platform for counseling. This finding aligns well with prior research [10], indicating the need for innovative approaches, such as mHealth, to scale-up HIVST in this highly stigmatized group.…”

“…This finding, along with the evidence that a large proportion of Malaysian MSM have access to smartphones [10], emphasizes the potential for a telephone hotline or smartphone app-based (e.g., WhatsApp message) platform for counseling. This finding aligns well with prior research [10], indicating the need for innovative approaches, such as mHealth, to scale-up HIVST in this highly stigmatized group.…”

“…Consequently, HIV prevention and treatment programs are inadequately designed for MSM, who now account for most new HIV infections in Malaysia [9]. With only 61.6% of Malaysian MSM having ever tested for HIV and less than half (44.5%) tested in the past 12 months [10], innovations in HIV testing are needed. In an effort to address gaps in delivering HIV testing services, to achieve national and global testing targets, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends and guides HIV self-testing (HIVST) to supplement traditional facility and community outreach testing [11].…”

Leveraging Social Media Activity and Machine Learning for HIV and Substance Abuse Risk Assessment: Development and Validation Study

“…6.5% (1026) of the messages were advertisements filtered out by our data processor. As shown in Table 2, the majority of messages, 75.7% (11,877), came from Website A, followed by Website B with 21.2% (3327), Facebook at 2.2% (352), and Twitter with 0.89% (139) of messages. Participant activity across all platforms is displayed as a heatmap in Figure 3, with participants 28, 40, and 42 showing the highest activity after initial onboarding.…”

“…Web-based communication tools such as social networking sites (eg, "hookup apps," dating websites) have been used among men who have sex with men to seek sexual partners and share information and resources about substance use [7][8][9][10]. In the early 2010s, 85% of men who have sex with men used the internet to find sexual partners [9], and this figure grew to 96% in 2019 [11]. However, the rising popularity of these technologies has also raised concerns about their role in facilitating sexual risk behaviors.…”