Young SD, Cumberland WG, Singh P, Coates T. A Peer-Led Online Community to Increase HIV Self-Testing Among African American and Latinx MSM: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2022 May 1;90(1):20-26. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000002919. PMID: 35044989; PMCID: PMC8986620.
Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a peer-led online community for increasing HIV self-testing among Latinx and African American men who have sex with men (MSM). Nine hundred MSM living in Los Angeles were recruited from online advertisements, community centers and referrals. Eligible participants were HIV negative and/or serostatus unknown. Seventy-nine peer leaders were also recruited from local community organizations and attended training sessions on HIV epidemiology, building an online community, and promoting discussion on health and stigmatizing topics. Participants randomly assigned to the intervention joined a 12-week private online community group with peer leaders on Facebook and the control group joined a private Facebook group without peer leaders. Each group had about 30 participants and 5 peer leaders. During the intervention period, peer leaders communicated with participants weekly via sending messages, chats, and posts in their Facebook group to build trust and deliver HIV information. Every four weeks, all participants were offered a free HIV self-testing kit. All participants were administered self-report assessments at baseline and at 12-weeks at post-intervention. Results indicated the intervention group was significantly more likely to accept the offer for self-testing compared to the control group (OR=1.43, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.95). Compared to the control, intervention participants were significantly more likely to take a HIV self-test within the past 3 months (OR=1.47, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.13) and consume less alcohol in an average week (p=0.01) at post-intervention follow-up relative to baseline. The study observed a high retention rate (93%). Findings suggest that online communities are effective platforms for increasing HIV testing and reducing alcohol consumption among MSM of color. Results have implications for public health policy and scalability of technology-based interventions.