Background Latinx gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority men are disproportionately affected by HIV in the United States. As Latinx sexual minority men, particularly those who are foreign-born, experience inequitable access to health services, tailored strategies to engage them for HIV prevention are urgently needed. Objective Our study seeks to address the need for enhanced access to HIV prevention among Latinx immigrant sexual minority men. We developed and piloted a culturally sensitive technology-based campaign focused on HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake. Methods We used a two-phase approach to assess the feasibility of community-informed social media content in engaging Latinx immigrant sexual minority men for HIV testing and PrEP use. First, we conducted three iterative focus groups with 15 Latinx immigrant sexual minority men to refine the HIV prevention content to be piloted on social media platforms. The finalized content was placed on Instagram and Facebook for 9 days in July and September 2021 to individuals who were in Washington State. Individuals who clicked on the content were directed to a website with additional HIV prevention information. Second, we conducted online surveys (n=60) with website visitors that assessed sociodemographic characteristics, barriers to HIV prevention, and HIV-related transmission risk and prevention behaviors. We conducted descriptive analyses to examine the overall profile of survey respondents and determine the feasibility of culturally informed social media content in reaching Latinx immigrant sexual minority men. Results Overall, 739 unique users visited the website during the 9-day period when the social media content was posted on Instagram and Facebook. Our sample included 60 Latinx immigrant sexual minority men who completed the online survey. Participants’ mean age was 30.8 years and more than half (n=34, 57%) completed the survey in Spanish. A quarter of participants indicated that they were unauthorized immigrants and 57% (n=34) reported not having medical insurance. Participants reported, on average, having 6 different sexual partners in the last 6 months. Nearly a third of respondents had not tested for HIV in the last 6 months. Only about half (n=32, 53%) of respondents had used PrEP in the last 12 months. Conclusions Community-driven social media and web-based strategies are feasible ways to engage Latinx immigrant sexual minority men who may traditionally lack access to HIV prevention information and services due to structural and social barriers. The results highlight that culturally relevant social media and web-based outreach strategies that are informed and developed by the community can reach Latinx immigrant sexual minority men for HIV prevention. Findings underscore the need to examine the effectiveness of social media content in promoting HIV testing and PrEP uptake in marginalized Latinx populations.
Alexandra holds a Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial and Systems Engineering, both from Virginia Tech, and a BS in Production of Materials Engineering from the Federal University of Sao Carlos, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Her research interests are systems thinking, systems dynamics, service operations, economic design issues, performance measurement using DEA, evaluating success factors in engineering and the cognitive processes that occur during their acquisition.
BACKGROUND Latinx gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority men (SMM) are disproportionately affected by HIV in the United States. As Latinx SMM, particularly those who are foreign-born, experience inequitable access to health services, tailored strategies to engage them for HIV prevention are urgently needed. OBJECTIVE Our study sought to address the need for enhanced access to HIV prevention among Latinx immigrant SMM. We developed and piloted a culturally sensitive, technology-based campaign focused on HIV testing and PrEP uptake. METHODS We utilized a two-phase approach to assess the feasibility of community-informed social media content in engaging Latinx immigrant SMM for HIV testing and PrEP use. First, we conducted three iterative focus groups with 15 Latinx immigrant SMM to refine the HIV prevention content to be piloted on social media platforms. The finalized content was placed on Instagram and Facebook for 9 days in July and September 2021 to individuals who were in Washington State. Individuals who clicked on the content were directed to a website with additional HIV prevention information. Second, we conducted online surveys (n=60) with website visitors that assessed sociodemographic characteristics, barriers to HIV prevention, and HIV-related transmission risk and prevention behaviors. We conducted descriptive analyses to examine the overall profile of survey respondents and determine the feasibility of culturally informed social media content in reaching Latinx immigrant SMM. RESULTS Overall, 739 unique users visited the website during the 9-day period when the social media content was posted on Instagram and Facebook. Our sample included 60 Latinx immigrant SMM who completed the online survey. Participants’ mean age was 30.8 years and more than half (56.7%) completed the survey in Spanish. A quarter of participants indicated that they were unauthorized immigrants and 56.7% reported not having medical insurance. Participants reported, on average, having 6 different sexual partners in the last 6 months. Nearly a third of respondents had not tested for HIV in the last 6 months. Only about half (53.3%) of respondents had used PrEP in the last 12 months. CONCLUSIONS Community-driven social media and web-based strategies are feasible ways to engage Latinx immigrant SMM who may traditionally lack access to HIV prevention information and services due to structural and social barriers. Results highlight that culturally relevant social media and web-based outreach strategies that are informed and developed by the community can reach Latinx immigrant SMM for HIV prevention. Findings underscore the need to examine the effectiveness of social media content in promoting HIV testing and PrEP uptake in marginalized Latinx populations.
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