Journal of Medical Internet Research
Volume 20, Issue 8, 2018

Using geosocial networking apps to understand the spatial distribution of gay and bisexual men: Pilot study (Article) (Open Access)

Card K.G.* , Gibbs J. , Lachowsky N.J. , Hawkins B.W. , Compton M. , Edward J. , Salway T. , Gislason M.K. , Hogg R.S.
  • a School of Public Health and Social Policy, Faculty of Human and Social Development, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada
  • b School of Social Work, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
  • c School of Public Health and Social Policy, Faculty of Human and Social Development, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada
  • d University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • e Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • f Health Initiative for Men, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • g Community Based Research Centre for Gay Men's Health, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • h Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
  • i Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

Abstract

Background: While services tailored for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) may provide support for this vulnerable population, planning access to these services can be difficult due to the unknown spatial distribution of gbMSM outside of gay-centered neighborhoods. This is particularly true since the emergence of geosocial networking apps, which have become a widely used venue for meeting sexual partners. Objective: The goal of our research was to estimate the spatial density of app users across Metro Vancouver and identify the independent and adjusted neighborhood-level factors that predict app user density. Methods: This pilot study used a popular geosocial networking app to estimate the spatial density of app users across rural and urban Metro Vancouver. Multiple Poisson regression models were then constructed to model the relationship between app user density and areal population-weighted neighbourhood-level factors from the 2016 Canadian Census and National Household Survey. Results: A total of 2021 app user profiles were counted within 1 mile of 263 sampling locations. In a multivariate model controlling for time of day, app user density was associated with several dissemination area-level characteristics, including population density (per 100; incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.03, 95% CI 1.02-1.04), average household size (IRR 0.26, 95% CI 0.11-0.62), average age of males (IRR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88-0.98), median income of males (IRR 0.96, 95% CI 0.92-0.99), proportion of males who were not married (IRR 1.08, 95% CI 1.02-1.13), proportion of males with a postsecondary education (IRR 1.06, 95% CI 1.03-1.10), proportion of males who are immigrants (IRR 1.04, 95% CI 1.004-1.07), and proportion of males living below the low-income cutoff level (IRR 0.93, 95% CI 0.89-0.98). Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrates how the combination of geosocial networking apps and administrative datasets might help care providers, planners, and community leaders target online and offline interventions for gbMSM who use apps. © Kiffer George Card, Jeremy Gibbs, Nathan John Lachowsky, Blake W Hawkins, Miranda Compton, Joshua Edward, Travis Salway, Maya K Gislason, Robert S Hogg. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 08.08.2018. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.

Author Keywords

Service access Spatial distribution gay Bisexual men Geosocial networking apps Gay neighborhoods

Index Keywords

married person male education female pilot study immigrant household leadership bisexual male lowest income group sampling Incidence neighborhood Article population density human adult human experiment
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85052885072&doi=10.2196%2fpublichealth.8931&partnerID=40&md5=805c7df9ae87dc018d96c929b8701384
DOI: 10.2196/publichealth.8931
ISSN: 14388871
Original Language: English