title: Comparing study populations of men who have sex with men: evaluating consistency within repeat studies and across studies in the Seattle area using different recruitment methodologies.
abstract: There is no gold standard for recruiting unbiased samples of men who have sex with men (MSM). To assess differing recruitment methods, we compared Seattle-area MSM samples from: venue-day-time sampling-based National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) surveys in 2008 and 2011, random-digit-dialed (RDD) surveys in 2003 and 2006, and STD clinic patient data 2001-2011. We compared sociodemographics, sexual and drug-associated behavior, and HIV status and testing. There was generally good consistency between the two NHBS surveys and within STD clinic data across time. NHBS participants reported higher levels of drug-associated and lower levels of sexual risk than STD clinic patients. RDD participants differed from the other study populations in sociodemographics and some risk behaviors. While neither NHBS nor the STD clinic study populations may be representative of all MSM, both appear to provide consistent samples of MSM subpopulations across time that can provide useful information to guide HIV prevention.
authors.affiliation: HIV/STD Program, Public Health-Seattle & King County, 401 Fifth Ave., Suite 1152, Seattle, WA, 98104, USA, richard.burt@kingcounty.gov.
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Burt
authors.forename: Alexandra M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Oster
authors.forename: Mathew R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Golden
authors.forename: Hanne
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thiede
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D018579:Patient Selection; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014861:Washington
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