Web-based HIV/AIDS behavioral surveillance among men who have sex with men: potential and challenges

With more men who have sex with men (MSM) seeking sexual partners through the Internet, the Internet has been characterized as a newly emerging risk environment for HIV transmission. Meanwhile, the flourishing of gay websites provides a good opportunity for health professionals to conduct systematic HIV/AIDS behavioral surveillance among MSM. Effective methods to recruit online MSM users have been developed, and online surveys have suggested many practical advantages over surveys in the traditional gay community. Although surveys among MSM via the Internet have a few limitations and risks, online surveillance can still be viewed as a feasible and convenient approach, especially in countries where the HIV/AIDS epidemic is concentrated in high-risk populations and where the conducting of such surveillance in traditional gay venues is difficult.