A Web 2.0 and Epidemiology Mash-Up: Using Respondent-Driven Sampling in Combination with Social Network Site Recruitment to Reach Young Transwomen.
Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) peer referral has been proven to be an effective recruitment method for hard-to-reach populations; however, its application in diverse populations is limited. Recruitment occurred in two phases: RDS-only followed by development and implementation of an online social network strategy in combination with RDS peer referral (RDS + SNS). Compared to RDS-only, RDS + SNS reached a sample that was younger (χ(2) = 9.19, P = .03), more likely to identify with a non-binary gender identity (χ(2) = 10.4247, P = .03), with less housing instability (50.5 vs. 68.6 %, χ(2) = 9.0038, P = .002) and less sex work (19.7 vs. 31.4 %, χ(2) = 5.0798, P = .02). Additionally, we describe lessons learned as a result of implementing our online social network strategy. Our findings underscore the importance of integrating Internet-driven strategies to meet challenges in sample diversity and recruitment of young transwomen.
Center for Public Health Research, San Francisco Department of Public Health, 25 Van Ness Ave, Floor 5, San Francisco, CA, 94102, USA. Sean.Arayasirikul@ucsf.edu.|Medical Sociology, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Sean.Arayasirikul@ucsf.edu.
Sean
S
Arayasirikul
Center for Public Health Research, San Francisco Department of Public Health, 25 Van Ness Ave, Floor 5, San Francisco, CA, 94102, USA.
Yea-Hung
YH
Chen
Center for Public Health Research, San Francisco Department of Public Health, 25 Van Ness Ave, Floor 5, San Francisco, CA, 94102, USA.|Medical Sociology, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.|Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Harry
H
Jin
Center for Public Health Research, San Francisco Department of Public Health, 25 Van Ness Ave, Floor 5, San Francisco, CA, 94102, USA.|Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Erin
E
Wilson
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012494:Sampling Studies; D011477:Sex Work; D061108:Social Media / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D063106:Transgender Persons
Internet; Recruitment; Transgender; Young adults