Social Support Seeking on Social Media Among Chinese Gay Men Living with HIV/AIDS: The Role of Perceived Threat

Acquiring Social Support in an Online HPV Support Group: Exploring the Roles of Threat and Efficacy

Social media have become crucial communication channels for human papilloma virus (HPV) patients to seek and receive social support that can benefit their physical and psychological health. To promote supportive communication on online social platforms, we analyzed 96,543 messages, including 7,407 posts and 89,136 comments, concerning social support on Baidu HPV Forum, one of China's largest online HPV support groups. We examined factors (i.e., threat and efficacy) in posts requesting social support associated with the amount of social support received in comments. Results revealed that the majority of social support messages received in comments represented informational support, whereas relatively few comments featured instrumental social support. Beyond that, high-threat, non-efficacy posts requesting social support received a greater amount of informational and emotional support in the comments than other types of posts requesting social support. Theoretical and practical implications of our study are discussed as well.

A Qualitative Study of the Benefits and Utility of Brief Motivational Interviewing to Reduce Sexually Transmitted Infections among Men Who Have Sex with Men

Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of motivational interviewing (MI) in reducing sexual risk behaviors. However, limited information is available on the acceptability of brief MI among men who have sex with men (MSM) in poor resource settings like sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to assess the views of MSM about the benefits and utility of brief MI (bMI) in changing their risky behavior. A qualitative study among men who have sex with men (MSM) who were enrolled in a longitudinal observational study between December 2021 and May 2023. The setting was in Tshwane North and participants were scheduled for baseline, 6-month, and 12-month visits. All participants received 20 min one-on-one face-to-face brief motivational interview (bMI) sessions during their follow-up visits. At month 12, an exit interview was conducted with consenting conveniently sampled participants (n = 23) who had completed all scheduled visits and received three bMI sessions. The findings indicated that the most recalled conversation was related to multiple sexual partners, having sex under the influence of alcohol, and MSM learned more about sexually transmitted diseases. Many expressed being comfortable with the sessions because the counselor was respectful and non-judgmental. Most found the bMI sessions to have a positive impact on changing and reducing risky sexual behaviors, particularly it reportedly increased their use of condoms and reduced the number of multiple partners. MSM found the bMI to be useful and acceptable in reducing sexual risk behaviors among MSM.

Predicting Social Support Exchanging Among Male Homosexuals Who are HIV-Positive in Social Media Context: The Role of Online Self-Disclosure

This study investigated social support exchanges on social media among male homosexuals who are HIV-positive (MHHP) in China and explored how online self-disclosure relates to such activity. Analyses were based on 9,459 Weibo messages posted by 188 targeted users.Results showed that the informational and emotional support messages were prevalent in the Chinese context, and esteem social support was first found to be the most salient by the current investigation. Results of independent samples t-tests suggested that MHHP who engaged in significant self-disclosure on Weibo tended to have more frequent social support exchanges than those who did not. In particular, MHHP who expressed sex-seeking intentions and companionship seeking intentions were likely to post more supportive messages than those who did not express such intentions. Moreover, MHHP who disclosed their concerns over discrimination tended to post more emotional, informational, and esteem support messages than those who did not express discrimination concerns.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Quality of Life. An Exploratory Study During the First Outbreak in Italy

The coronavirus pandemic has been sweeping the world for more than a year. As physical health begins to stabilize in the western world, an increasing concern is related to the impact of the virus and its containment measures on people's mental health. This work aimed to explore the effect of demographic factors (age, gender, level of education, and socioeconomic status) and variables such as fear of COVID-19 and social support in predicting the quality of life and mental health of adults during the first wave of the pandemic in Italy. Through an online survey with 1087 Italian adults (M = 39.7, SD = 16.39; 74.4% women), gender and socioeconomic status emerged as crucial factors in determining differences regarding people's responses and reactions to the pandemic. In addition, the results highlighted the importance of perceived social support and a moderate fear of COVID-19 in predicting people's quality of life and mental health. The study suggests important guidelines for the development of interventions to support the population's well-being and mental health.

Characterizing HIV discussions and engagement on Twitter

The novel settings provided by social media facilitate users to seek and share information on a wide array of subjects, including healthcare and wellness. Analyzing health-related opinions and discussions on these platforms complement traditional public health surveillance systems to support timely and effective interventions. This study aims to characterize the HIV-related conversations on Twitter by identifying the prevalent topics and the key events and actors involved in these discussions. Through Twitter API, we collected tweets containing the hashtag #HIV for a one-year period. After pre-processing the collected data, we conducted engagement analysis, temporal analysis, and topic modeling algorithm on the analytical sample (n = 122,807). Tweets by HIV/AIDS/LGBTQ activists and physicians received the highest level of engagement. An upsurge in tweet volume and engagement was observed during global and local events such as World Aids Day and HIV/AIDS awareness and testing days for trans-genders, blacks, women, and the aged population. Eight topics were identified that include “stigma”, “prevention”, “epidemic in the developing countries”, “World Aids Day”, “treatment”, “events”, “PrEP”, and “testing”. Social media discussions offer a nuanced understanding of public opinions, beliefs, and sentiments about numerous health-related issues. The current study reports various dimensions of HIV-related posts on Twitter. Based on the findings, public health agencies and pertinent entities need to proactively use Twitter and other social media by engaging the public through involving influencers. The undertaken methodological choices may be applied to further assess HIV discourse on other popular social media platforms.

Stigmatizing and de-Stigmatizing Properties of Web Apps for Sexual Health-Related Conditions: A Scoping Review

Objective

To review the literature that has examined stigma in relation to the design, impact, and ways web apps can alleviate or aggravate sexual health-related stigma.

Methods

Six databases were searched and 17 studies met the inclusion criteria.

Results

While two studies were randomized controlled trials, most studies were descriptive or qualitative. Stigma may be alleviated in web apps through sharing stigma-related experiences, receiving emotional support, and providing anonymous virtual connections Yet, stigma may be aggravated by implied disclosure, inappropriate content, and stigma by association.

Conlcusions

While web apps were able to address stigma to some extent, some strategies employed inadvertently aggravated stigma.

Digital health for sexually transmitted infection and HIV services: a global scoping review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The current study aimed to review how digital health has been used for sexually transmitted infection (STI)/HIV prevention, testing, and treatment.

RECENT FINDINGS

A scoping review was conducted by searching five databases for peer-reviewed literature published between March 2018 to August 2019. 23 out of 258 studies met the inclusion criteria and were assessed. Six studies used digital platform to enhance STI/HIV prevention messaging; four studies found that digital health can provide vivid promotional information and has been instrumental in increasing the accessibility and acceptability of STI/HIV testing; three studies reported digital health provides a channel to understand and interpret the discourses on preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and increase PrEP uptake; three studies focused on refining big data algorithms for surveillance; four studies reported on how digital interventions could be used to optimize clinical interventions; and four studies found digital interventions can be used to assist mental health services.

SUMMARY

Digital health is a powerful and versatile tool that can be utilized in the production of high-quality, innovative strategies on STIs and HIV services. Future studies should consider focusing on strategies and implementations that leverage digital platforms for network-based interventions, in addition to recognizing the norms of individual digital intervention platforms.

Peer Group Focused eHealth Strategies to Promote HIV Prevention, Testing, and Care Engagement

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Electronic communication platforms are increasingly used to support all steps of the HIV care cascade (an approach defined as eHealth). Most studies have employed individual-level approaches in which participants are connected with information, reminders, or a healthcare worker. Recent growth in use of social media platforms, which create digital communities, has created an opportunity to leverage virtual peer-to-peer connection to improve HIV prevention and care. In this article, we describe the current landscape of peer group eHealth interventions in the HIV field, based on a review of published literature, an online survey of unpublished ongoing work, and discussions with practitioners in the field in an in-person workshop.

RECENT FINDINGS

We identified 45 published articles and 12 ongoing projects meeting our inclusion criteria. Most reports were formative or observational; only three randomized evaluations of two interventions were reported. Studies indicated that use of peer group eHealth interventions is acceptable and has unique potential to influence health behaviors, but participants reported privacy concerns. Evaluations of health outcomes of peer group eHealth interventions show promising data, but more rigorous evaluations are needed. Development of group eHealth interventions presents unique technological, practical, and ethical challenges. Intervention design must consider privacy and data sovereignty concerns, and respond to rapid changes in platform use. Innovative development of open-source tools with high privacy standards is needed.

e-Health Campaigns for Promoting Influenza Vaccination: Examining Effectiveness of Fear Appeal Messages from Different Sources

Background: In recent years, influenza has become a severe disease and pandemic threat. There are more than 290,000 to 650,000 influenza-related deaths globally each year. Influenza vaccination is the best way to prevent influenza and potentially serious influenza-related complications. The current study aims to examine the effectiveness of fear-induced health campaigns on social media in promoting influenza vaccination with the focus on different sources. Methods: A 2 × 3 × 2 (visible source × receiver source × technological source) factorial online experiment was designed to investigate the effectiveness of fear appeal messages offered by different sources on social media. A total of 534 college students were recruited to participate in the experiment. Results: Individuals who receive messages from a verified visible source have greater intention to perform flu vaccination and seek flu-related information than those who acquire messages from an unverified one. Besides, visible source, receiver source, and technological source interact to affect flu-related information seeking. Conclusions: In addition to the message itself, different levels of message sources on social media should be considered for e-health campaign design, especially visible sources.

HIV-Related Stress Experienced by Newly Diagnosed People Living with HIV in China: A 1-Year Longitudinal Study

This study explored the HIV-related stressors that people living with HIV (PLWH) commonly experience and express as stressful at the time of diagnosis and 1 year later. The factors associated with stress levels and whether social support would moderate the negative effects of stress on psychological health (depressive and anxiety symptoms) were also investigated. Newly diagnosed PLWH were consecutively recruited in this study. Participants rated their stress with the HIV/AIDS Stress Scale at baseline and 1 year later. Social support, depression, and anxiety were also self-reported at both time points. There were significant decreases in stress levels 1 year after diagnosis. Stressors regarding confidentiality, disclosure, emotional distress, fear of infecting others, and excessive attention to physical functions were the most problematic at baseline and 1-year follow-up. A younger age, married status, not living alone, less income, presence of HIV symptoms, and lack of social support were associated with higher levels of stress. No stress-buffering effect of social support on depressive and anxiety symptoms was found in this study. Interventions to reduce stress among PLWH should take into consideration the following priority stressors: confidentiality, discrimination/stigma, serostatus disclosure, distressing emotions, fear of infecting others, and excessive attention to physical functions. More attention should be paid to PLWH with younger age, not living alone, less income, presence of HIV symptoms, and lack of social support.

Using the Extended Parallel Process Model to Examine the Nature and Impact of Breast Cancer Prevention Information on Mobile-Based Social Media: Content Analysis

BACKGROUND

With the rise of mobile technology, an increasing number of people use mobile-based social media to access health information. Many scholars have explored the nature of health information on social media; however, the impact of such information on people was understudied.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine the nature and impact of health information on mobile-based social media. Specifically, we investigated how the levels of threat and efficacy of breast cancer prevention information affect individuals' engagement with the information, such as readings and likes.

METHODS

Breast cancer prevention articles posted on a Chinese mobile-based social media platform (ie, WeChat Subscription Account [WeChat SA]) from January 1 to December 31, 2017, were extracted using the Python Web Crawler. We used content analysis and analysis of covariance to analyze our data.

RESULTS

The results revealed that the vast majority of titles and main bodies of the articles involved one of the extended parallel process model components: threat or efficacy.

CONCLUSIONS

Breast cancer prevention information on WeChat SA was well designed. Both threat and efficacy significantly affected the number of readings, whereas only efficacy had a significant effect on the number of likes. Moreover, breast cancer prevention information that contained both high levels of threat and efficacy gained the largest number of readings and likes.