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Reaching Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Comparison of Respondent-Driven Sampling and Time-Location Sampling in Guatemala City

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Abstract

We present a comparison of respondent-driven sampling (RDS) and time-location sampling (TLS) for behavioral surveillance studies among men who have sex with men (MSM). In 2010, we conducted two simultaneous studies using TLS (N = 609) and RDS (N = 507) in Guatemala city. Differences in characteristics of the population reached based on weighted estimates as well as the time and cost of recruitment are presented. RDS MSM were marginally more likely to self-report as heterosexual, less likely to disclose sexual orientation to family members and more likely to report sex with women than TLS MSM. Although RDS MSM were less likely than TLS MSM to report ≥2 non-commercial male partners, they were more likely to report selling sex in the past 12 months. The cost per participant was $89 and $121 for RDS and TLS, respectively. Our results suggest that RDS reached a more hidden sub-population of non-gay-identifying MSM than TLS and had a lower implementation cost.

Resumen

Presentamos una comparación de dos estudios de vigilancia del comportamiento en hombres que tienen relaciones sexuales con hombres (HSH) que utilizaron muestreo dirigido por los participantes (RDS, por sus siglas en inglés) y muestreo por tiempo-lugar (TLS, por sus siglas en inglés). En el 2010, realizamos dos estudios simultáneos usando TLS (N = 609) y RDS (N = 507) en la Ciudad de Guatemala. Se presentaron diferencias en las características de la población alcanzada con base en cálculos ponderados, así como en el tiempo y el costo del reclutamiento. Los HSH del RDS tenían una probabilidad ligeramente más alta de reportarse como heterosexuales, una probabilidad menor de revelar su orientación sexual a los familiares y una probabilidad mayor de reportar relaciones sexuales con mujeres que los HSH del TLS. Aunque los HSH del RDS tenían menos probabilidades que los HSH del TLS de reportar ≥ 2 parejas masculinas no comerciales, ellos tenían más probabilidades de reportar la venta de sexo en los 12 meses anteriores. El costo por participante fue de 89 y 121 dólares en RDS y TLS, respectivamente. Nuestros resultados indican que el RDS alcanzó a una subpoblación más escondida de HSH que no se identificaban como homosexuales comparado con TLS, y tuvo un costo de implementación más bajo.

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Notes

  1. Cesar Galindo, Del Valle University of Guatemala, personal communication, 2012.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Tephinet Inc. through a cooperative agreement (#6D43GH000014-05) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by Del Valle University through a grant with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), an NIH funded program P30 AI50410. The authors thank institutions and venue owners involved in the conduct of this study. The authors recognize the contribution of the field staff and technical consultants: Berta Alvarez, Nelson Arambu, Flor de Maria Hernandez, Jose Manuel Aguilar, Sabrina Boyce, Andres Alvarado, Sonia Morales Miranda, Jessica Espana, Norma Zuniga, Cesar Galindo, Andrea Kim, Henry Fisher Raymond, Willi McFarland, and Clare Barrington. The authors are also grateful for the two anonymous reviewers’ valuable comments that greatly improved the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV, Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd NE, MS E-46, Atlanta, GA, 30333, USA

    Gabriela Paz-Bailey

  2. Department of Public Health, University of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    William Miller

  3. Division of Global HIV/AIDS, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Ray W. Shiraishi, Taiwo O. Abimbola & Sanny Y. Chen

  4. Bogota, Colombia

    Jerry O. Jacobson

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  1. Gabriela Paz-Bailey
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Correspondence to Gabriela Paz-Bailey.

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Paz-Bailey, G., Miller, W., Shiraishi, R.W. et al. Reaching Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Comparison of Respondent-Driven Sampling and Time-Location Sampling in Guatemala City. AIDS Behav 17, 3081–3090 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0589-7

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