Many perceived screen names, phone numbers, and scars/tattoos to be too personal/identifying. Most preferred providing alters’ nicknames/first names only or a first name with the first letter of the last name.

In-depth interviews with 20 men who have sex with men and transgender women in Kentucky assessed privacy/confidentiality concerns as well as accuracy/recall issues associated with providing these details. Due to difficulties in constructing risk networks stemming from partner anonymity and the use of nicknames, some studies also collect network members’ screen names, phone numbers, physical attributes, and scars/tattoos to assist with entity resolution. Studies aiming to construct risk networks have historically collected network members' names, demographic characteristics and relational data (i.e., type, strength, duration, frequency of interaction, and HIV-related risk behaviors between the pair). Thus, this PrEP intervention engaged individuals in vulnerable positions with vulnerable connections within an MSM community. Finally the PrEP cohort’s social networks showed similarly increased vulnerability to seroconversion, including greater rates of injection drug use (4.1% vs 0.5% χ² = 3.9 p = 0.04), greater stimulant use (33.6% vs 14.6% χ² = 16.9, p < 0.001), and higher rates of recent STIs (21.6% vs 13.1% χ² = 4.4 p = 0.04). Further, their sexual network connections’ behaviors increased their vulnerability to HIV infection relative to the rest of the network’s sex partners. The PrEP cohort members were more highly connected and in more influential positions in the network than their peers. Individual, partner, and network characteristics were compared between the cohorts.

A PrEP intervention cohort of 106 participants was selected based upon sex behaviors. A PrEP intervention was implemented building upon an existing network cohort of MSM (308 participants 1212 network members). Although the HIV epidemic in Athens, Greece has reemerged and spread in men who have sex with men (MSM), state-supported PrEP programs have not been instituted.

Download sim card reader software