Estimating the influence of Twitter on pre-exposure prophylaxis use and HIV testing as a function of rates of men who have sex with men in the United States.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Acceptance of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and testing for HIV is likely to vary as a function of the norms and communications within a geographic area. This study examined associations involving county tweets, in person communications, and HIV prevention and testing in regions with higher (vs. lower) estimated rates of men who have sex with men (MSM).

Design and methods

Ecological analyses examined (a) tweets about HIV (i.e. tweet rates per 100 000 county population and topic probabilities in 1959 US counties); (b) individual-level survey data about HIV prevention and testing and communications about PrEP and HIV (N = 30 675 participants); and (c) estimated county-level MSM rates (per 1 000 adult men).

Results

In counties with higher rates of MSM, tweet

SUBMITTER: Chan MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12475984 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature