Engaging Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in HIV Interventions Through Gay Dating Apps: Recruitment Protocol

Abstract

Background HIV continues to disproportionately impact sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) in the United States. Public health efforts have increasingly focused on developing efficacious interventions to curb the spread of HIV among SGMY and help those living with HIV achieve and sustain viral suppression. However, recruiting and engaging SGMY in prevention and care interventions is challenging. Objective During the past decade, gay dating apps have quickly emerged as popular web-based spaces in which SGMY congregate. Although the recruitment of SGMY through these apps has been commonly reported, advertisement is the typical modality used, and direct recruitment approaches are not adequately described. This study aims to describe the process for developing a direct recruitment protocol for use in gay dating apps. Methods The Adolescent Medicine Trials Network Comprehensive Adolescent Research and Engagement Studies is a community-based research program consisting of 3 interrelated studies testing scalable behavioral interventions to improve HIV prevention and care engagement among youth aged 12-24 years in Los Angeles and New Orleans. To supplement our in-person recruitment approaches for Comprehensive Adolescent Research and Engagement Studies, the New Orleans site formed a gay dating app recruitment team. In April 2018, the team developed a loosely structured protocol that included study-specific profiles and sample language to guide initial recruitment efforts. Two self-identified Black, gay cisgender male field recruiters field-tested the protocol on the popular gay dating app Jack’d. During the field test, the recruitment team met weekly to discuss the recruiters’ experiences and user reactions. For example, we learned the importance of addressing concerns about study legitimacy and identifying appropriate ways to describe the study. We iteratively incorporated these lessons learned into the final protocol and developed a training program and tracking procedures before moving to full-scale implementation at both sites. Results Adhering to this protocol yielded 162 enrollments in New Orleans (332 total enrollments across the two sites) throughout the recruitment period (April 2018 to August 2019). Most of these participants were sexual minority cisgender males (91%), and the remainder were identified as members of gender minority groups. We outlined step-by-step instructions on training staff, engaging users, and scheduling and tracking recruitment activities. Conclusions This paper provides a practical guide for researchers and community-based providers to implement a gay dating app recruitment protocol. Our experience indicates that gay dating app recruitment is feasible and fruitful when the staff members are knowledgeable, flexible, honest, and respectful to the user. Perhaps the most salient lesson we learned in approaching gay dating app users is the importance of setting clear and transparent intentions without judgment. As gay dating apps continue to increase in popularity, researchers need to stay vigilant to changing formats and develop systematic approaches to harness their potential as invaluable recruitment strategies for SGMY. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR1-10.2196/28864

Examining Recruitment Strategies in the Enrollment Cascade of Youth Living With HIV: Descriptive Findings From a Nationwide Web-Based Adherence Protocol

“…Although Facebook has historically been a site that has significantly improved the engagement, screening, and enrollment of young sexual and gender minority adolescents [ 42 , 43 ], which overlaps with the population of youth living with HIV, we did not find paid screeners on Facebook to statistically significant increase participant enrollment. Although social media has also been successfully used to recruit participants either through advertisements [ 11 ] or direct recruitment [ 44 ], it is possible that the COVID-19 pandemic altered the way in which youth living with HIV used social media platforms, rendering them less effective for recruiting and enrolling eligible participants, despite the increased number of screeners.…”

Piloting a digital campaign to promote awareness of the Louisiana TelePrEP program among sexual and gender minority young adults

“…Research has shown that multiple exposures to ads via different outlets is a key element for effective health communication campaigns [ 39 ]. With more resources and time, we could have maximized reach by targeting other social media apps, as well as popular gay dating apps that have successfully engaged youth in HIV prevention research [ 23 , 40 ]. Lastly, we would have worked with the Louisiana Department of Health to design a TelePrEP website tailored to youth that would increase engagement.…”

Using Machine Learning to Identify Predictors of Sexually Transmitted Infections Over Time Among Young People Living With or at Risk for HIV Who Participated in ATN Protocols 147, 148, and 149

“…Teams in Los Angeles, CA, and New Orleans, LA, screened youth at risk for or living with HIV from agencies and adolescent medicine clinics. Recruitment was also done via social media dating apps 12 and referrals. Youth were eligible for enrollment either as (1) youth living with HIV (ATN 147 and 148 for recent and established infection, respectively) or (2) youth not living with HIV who had multiple risk factors for HIV: recent STIs, condomless sex, or substance use; lifetime experience of homelessness, mental health hospitalization, or criminal justice contact; SGM; Black or Latinx; reporting sex partners living with HIV; or current preexposure prophylaxis use (ATN 149).…”