Recruiting Black Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) Couples via Dating Apps: Pilot Study on Challenges and Successes
BackgroundHIV disproportionately impacts Black men who have sex with men (MSM), and targeting the primary relationship (ie, couples) using mobile technology for health holds promise for HIV prevention. Web-based recruitment of MSM is commonly employed in HIV prevention and in...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2022-04-01
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| Series: | JMIR Formative Research |
| Online Access: | https://formative.jmir.org/2022/4/e31901 |
| _version_ | 1797735217790713856 |
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| author | Yong Darin Witkovic Hyunjin Cindy Kim Darius Jovon Bright Judy Y Tan |
| author_facet | Yong Darin Witkovic Hyunjin Cindy Kim Darius Jovon Bright Judy Y Tan |
| author_sort | Yong Darin Witkovic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundHIV disproportionately impacts Black men who have sex with men (MSM), and targeting the primary relationship (ie, couples) using mobile technology for health holds promise for HIV prevention. Web-based recruitment of MSM is commonly employed in HIV prevention and intervention research. However, little known about recruiting Black MSM couples on the internet in the United States.
ObjectiveThis study describes the process of recruiting Black MSM couples over social networking and dating apps frequented by MSM. We describe the activities for recruiting, screening, and enrolling participants as part of a randomized trial employing a multipronged recruitment approach.
MethodsBlack MSM in couples were recruited via three apps (ie, Jack’d, Adam4Adam, and Growlr) between May 2020 and March 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Black MSM couples were eligible if one or both partners are Black, MSM, and living with HIV, and if both partners were 18 years or older, and have been together for at least 2 months in what they both consider a primary relationship (ie, one in which both partners reported feeling most committed to over any other partner or relationship).
ResultsA total of 10 Black MSM couples (n=20) were enrolled via social networking apps. App recruitment activities were a combination of passive (eg, in-app advertisements) and active (eg, direct messaging of users) engagement. Recruitment approaches varied by the social networking app owing to differences in app features. A full-time recruiter experienced challenges such as bugs (ie, technical errors in computer program or system), navigating technical requirements specific to each app, and web-based harassment.
ConclusionsDespite challenges, it was possible to recruit Black MSM couples virtually into research as part of a multipronged recruitment strategy. We identify tips for using web-based dating and other social networking apps as part of a recruitment strategy in future research with Black MSM couples. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:54:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b182a8032d7a4947861d33fc166510b5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2561-326X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:54:51Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Formative Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-b182a8032d7a4947861d33fc166510b52023-08-28T21:21:55ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Formative Research2561-326X2022-04-0164e3190110.2196/31901Recruiting Black Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) Couples via Dating Apps: Pilot Study on Challenges and SuccessesYong Darin Witkovichttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6167-424XHyunjin Cindy Kimhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3322-7215Darius Jovon Brighthttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0856-1764Judy Y Tanhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4414-1035 BackgroundHIV disproportionately impacts Black men who have sex with men (MSM), and targeting the primary relationship (ie, couples) using mobile technology for health holds promise for HIV prevention. Web-based recruitment of MSM is commonly employed in HIV prevention and intervention research. However, little known about recruiting Black MSM couples on the internet in the United States. ObjectiveThis study describes the process of recruiting Black MSM couples over social networking and dating apps frequented by MSM. We describe the activities for recruiting, screening, and enrolling participants as part of a randomized trial employing a multipronged recruitment approach. MethodsBlack MSM in couples were recruited via three apps (ie, Jack’d, Adam4Adam, and Growlr) between May 2020 and March 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Black MSM couples were eligible if one or both partners are Black, MSM, and living with HIV, and if both partners were 18 years or older, and have been together for at least 2 months in what they both consider a primary relationship (ie, one in which both partners reported feeling most committed to over any other partner or relationship). ResultsA total of 10 Black MSM couples (n=20) were enrolled via social networking apps. App recruitment activities were a combination of passive (eg, in-app advertisements) and active (eg, direct messaging of users) engagement. Recruitment approaches varied by the social networking app owing to differences in app features. A full-time recruiter experienced challenges such as bugs (ie, technical errors in computer program or system), navigating technical requirements specific to each app, and web-based harassment. ConclusionsDespite challenges, it was possible to recruit Black MSM couples virtually into research as part of a multipronged recruitment strategy. We identify tips for using web-based dating and other social networking apps as part of a recruitment strategy in future research with Black MSM couples.https://formative.jmir.org/2022/4/e31901 |
| spellingShingle | Yong Darin Witkovic Hyunjin Cindy Kim Darius Jovon Bright Judy Y Tan Recruiting Black Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) Couples via Dating Apps: Pilot Study on Challenges and Successes JMIR Formative Research |
| title | Recruiting Black Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) Couples via Dating Apps: Pilot Study on Challenges and Successes |
| title_full | Recruiting Black Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) Couples via Dating Apps: Pilot Study on Challenges and Successes |
| title_fullStr | Recruiting Black Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) Couples via Dating Apps: Pilot Study on Challenges and Successes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recruiting Black Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) Couples via Dating Apps: Pilot Study on Challenges and Successes |
| title_short | Recruiting Black Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) Couples via Dating Apps: Pilot Study on Challenges and Successes |
| title_sort | recruiting black men who have sex with men msm couples via dating apps pilot study on challenges and successes |
| url | https://formative.jmir.org/2022/4/e31901 |
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