Recruiting drug using men who have sex with men in behavioral intervention trials: a comparison of internet and field-based strategies.
Although online and field-based samples of men who have sex with men (MSM) have been compared on a variety of markers, differences in drug use have not been well examined. In addition, generalization from studies comparing recruitment methods is often limited by a focus on either HIV seropositive or seronegative MSM. We compared two New York City-based samples of MSM recruited simultaneously between July 2009 and January 2010-one sample recruited in the field (n = 2,402) and one sample recruited via the Internet (n = 694). All recruitment efforts targeted men without restriction on age or self-reported HIV status. Our results show marked differences in drug and alcohol use between online and field-based samples of MSM. Specifically, men surveyed online were significantly more likely to have tried a variety of drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine, and ecstasy. Men recruited online were also more likely to report older age, HIV positive serostatus, and "never" using condoms. Internet-based recruitment was found to be more cost-effective in terms of recruitment yield than was field-based recruitment.
Department of Psychology, Hunter College, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, NY, USA. jeffrey.parsons@hunter.cuny.edu
Jeffrey T
JT
Parsons
Andrea C
AC
Vial
Tyrel J
TJ
Starks
Sarit A
SA
Golub
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055030:Drug Users / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006306:Health Surveys; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D018579:Patient Selection; D012648:Self Care; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012747:Sexual Partners; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires