Online Health-Searching Behavior Among HIV-Seropositive and HIV-Seronegative Men Who Have Sex With Men in the Baltimore and Washington, DC Area

Background Searching online for health information is common among American adults. However, there have been few studies to investigate the online health-searching behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM) with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Objective To estimate the prevalence of Internet use among HIV-seropositive MSM and compare their online behaviors with HIV-seronegative men with chronic disease(s). Methods This study was performed at the Baltimore/Washington, DC site of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). A total of 200 MACS participants were asked to answer a self-administered questionnaire on a first-come basis during a semiannual study visit (from July to November 2011); 195 (97.5%) participants completed the survey. Multiple logistic regression models were used to investigate the factors influencing their online health-searching behaviors. Results The median age of the 195 MSM participants was 57 years, 64.6% were white, 59.0% were employed, and 88.2% had Internet access at home and/or other locations. Of the 95 HIV-seropositive participants, 89.5% currently used highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and 82.1% had Internet access. After adjusting for age and race/ethnicity, the HIV-seropositive participants were less likely to perform online searches for general disease-related information compared to the HIV-seronegative men with chronic disease(s) (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.06-0.68, P =.01). There were no statistically significant associations with HIV status and searching for new medications/treatments (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.19-1.55, P =.26) or support/advice from other patients (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.18-1.53, P =.24). Increasing age by 5 years led to a decrease by 29% in the odds of online health-related searches for general information (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.52-0.98, P =.03) and 26% for support/advice from other patients (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.56-0.98, P =.03). A decrease of 25% for new medications/treatments was also seen, but was not statistically significant (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.57-1.01, P =.06). Conclusions This study shows that HIV-seropositive MSM have similar online health-searching behaviors as HIV-seronegative men with chronic disease(s). Independent of HIV status, older MSM are less likely to perform online health-related searches.