(P313) Mapping Online Community Spaces and Experiences of Online HIV/STI Services: A Digital Focus Group Study among GBMSM in Guangdong, China with Implications for HIV/STIs Prevention Services

Introduction: Chinese gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) face discrimination in many health services, decreasing health seeking at facilities and increasing the importance of online engagement. Few studies have determined how Chinese GBMSM navigate online spaces, including websites, apps, and platforms, in their everyday lives. The purpose of this study was to examine online GBMSM community spaces and implications for HIV/STIs prevention services.

Methods: We conducted a total of six online focus group discussions on the chat-based platform WeChat in 2021. Inclusion criteria for participants were self-identified GBMSM aged 18 and above and living in Guangdong Province, China recruited through research and community group networks. Focus group discussions were asynchronous, and participants were able to provide and map out online spaces that they had participated in and share their perspectives on online engagement. Data were analyzed through framework analysis.

Results: Overall, 48 participants participated, of whom most were mainly sexually attracted to men (n=43, 90.0%), and had never participated in in-person LGBTQ-related activities (n=29, 60.4%). Participants articulated a typology of online spaces along the axes of whether such spaces were localized platforms (vs. non-localized) or whether they were GBMSM-specific (vs. non-GBMSM-specific). Localized, GBMSM-specific spaces including local gay dating apps were suited for HIV/STIs prevention outreach, but participants articulated how other non-conventional spaces can be leveraged for such purposes. Participants articulated several advantages of online spaces, including greater anonymity, opportunities for community building, sharing of sexual health information and being able to meet other GBMSM more efficiently. Drawbacks included the lack of personal connection, concerns around safety for minors, encountering deception and the use of fake profile pictures, and needing a virtual proxy network to access some websites. Participants provided suggestions to further improve their experiences of online spaces, including ways to deepen community engagement, diversify content apart from sexual health, as well as to integrate safeguard to protect underaged individuals from sexual predators.

Conclusions: Findings of this study have implications for differentiated messaging for HIV/STI interventions. More research on GBMSM-specific online spaces (e.g., gay dating apps), and the interface between online and offline spaces for Chinese GBMSM, is warranted