Using Social Media To Increase HIV Testing Among Men Who Have Sex with Men - Beijing, China, 2013-2017

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Digital Health Interventions

Background:

• While overall human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence in China is low (0.06%), it is significantly higher (8.0%) among men who have sex with men (MSM).
• Stigmatization of same-sex behaviors in China creates barriers to effective HIV prevention and treatment efforts for MSM.
• Targeted interventions are crucial to address the disproportionately high HIV rates within the MSM community.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a novel HIV testing campaign launched by Blued, a popular online dating application for MSM in China.
• To assess trends in HIV testing service utilization among MSM in Beijing following the campaign's implementation.
• To determine the effectiveness of leveraging social media platforms and geolocation technology for HIV testing promotion.

Main Methods:

• The study examined HIV testing data from six Blued-operated testing centers in Beijing.
• Data collection spanned from two years prior to the campaign launch in 2015 through December 31, 2017.
• The Blued campaign utilized its push-notification platform and geolocation capabilities to encourage HIV testing among its users.

Main Results:

• A notable and sharp increase in HIV testing rates was observed immediately following the launch of Blued's online HIV testing campaign.
• The campaign demonstrated a significant positive correlation between the digital intervention and increased uptake of HIV testing services.
• The findings suggest that the integration of social media and geolocation messaging effectively reached and motivated MSM for HIV testing.

Conclusions:

• Leveraging social media platforms, such as the Blued dating application, can be a highly effective strategy for increasing HIV testing among MSM.
• The use of geolocation-based text messaging functionality within these platforms offers a promising approach for targeted public health outreach.
• This digital health intervention model shows particular promise for engaging younger MSM (aged ≤35 years) in vital HIV testing services.