Engaging sexual minority adolescents in nationwide at-home HIV prevention research in the U.S

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined research-related privacy and confidentiality concerns among adolescent sexual minority males (ASMM) and provides lessons learned to inform recruitment and enrollment strategies for this population. Methods: Participants were a 2017–2018 internet-based U.S. national sample of sexual minority adolescents who responded to self-report measures of privacy and confidentiality concerns. Results: Bivariate chi-square tests were used to identify participants’ mean differences in worry and likelihood of privacy breach occurrences. Many participants reported privacy-related concerns within remote HIV prevention research. Conclusions: Study protocols were designed to ensure participants felt safe participating in online HIV prevention research. However, there are challenges to enroll participants with rigorous protocols for ensuring safety and privacy.

Keywords

• HIV
• LGBTQ+
• Intersectionality
• Remote research
• Adolescents