Using community-based participatory research to develop a chat room-based HIV prevention intervention for gay men

Abstract

Background: Although seeking sexual partners on the Internet is an identified risk factor for HIV and sexually transmitted disease infection among gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM), the medical literature lacks descriptions of the development, implementation, and evaluation of interventions for reducing infections among men who seek sexual partners online.

Objectives: We sought to fill this gap by describing Cyber-Based Education and Referral/Men for Men (CyBER/M4M), an intervention designed to reduce HIV exposure and transmission among gay men and MSM who use geographically defined chat rooms.

Methods: CyBER/M4M was developed by a community-university partnership that included gay men who had experience with seeking sexual partners online, and representatives from community-based organizations, the local public health department, two universities, and national organizations with expertise in community-based participatory research (CBPR) and HIV prevention.

Results: Two products emerged: the CyBER/M4M Training Manual, designed to facilitate training of lay health advisors known as CyBER/M4M Educators, and CyBER/M4M Resource Manual, designed as a reference for the educators.

Conclusions: Further research is clearly needed, but this work provides insight into the development, implementation, and evaluation of a chat room-based HIV prevention intervention using CBPR.