Attrition and HIV Risk Behaviors: A Comparison of Young Men Who Have Sex with Men Recruited from Online and Offline Venues for an Online HIV Prevention Program

In addition to offline venue-based and time–space sampling, recruitment of young men who have sex with men (YMSM) into HIV surveillance and prevention studies has expanded over time to include Internet-based approaches. Despite broadening recruitment strategies, enrolling racially and ethnically diverse YMSM who are disproportionately impacted by HIV continues to be challenging. Additionally, there is little literature on the impact of recruitment venue on participant characteristics and likelihood to enroll YMSM into online randomized control trials (RCT). This study used data from the multisite RCT, Keep It Up! 2.0, to examine the impact of recruitment venue on participant demographics, behavioral HIV risks, and enrollment. A total of 2984 participants were screened for eligibility from community-based organizations, Facebook, dating apps, and outreach events. There were significant differences by venue in age (χ²[3] = 54.38, p <.001), race/ethnicity (χ²[9] = 110.78, p <.001), sexual orientation (χ²[3] = 7.85, p <.05), relationship status (χ²[6] = 27.71, p <.001), and region of recruitment (χ²[6] = 1480.51, p <.001). There were no significant differences by venue in attrition during the enrollment process. The only difference in attrition was by race/ethnicity. Compared to White participants, eligible Black (OR: 0.35, p <.01) and Latino (OR: 0.46, p <.05) participants were significantly less likely to enroll in the intervention. There were also no significant differences by recruitment venue in sexual risk behaviors among enrolled participants. These findings suggest that recruitment into online HIV interventions from a variety of venues is feasible for diverse YMSM who are at similar risk for HIV infection.