Open AccessImplementing Respondent-Driven Sampling to Recruit Women Who Exchange Sex in New York City: Factors Associated with Recruitment and Lessons Learned
Author(s) -
Sidney A. Carrillo,
Alexis V. Rivera,
Sarah Braunstein
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
aids and behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.994
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1573-3254
pISSN - 1090-7165
DOI - 10.1007/s10461-019-02485-w
Subject(s) - respondent , health psychology , public health , men who have sex with men , sex partners , population , demography , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , medicine , psychology , gerontology , environmental health , family medicine , nursing , political science , sociology , law , syphilis , condom
Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) relies on productive peer recruitment to capture hidden populations. Domestic studies have identified characteristics of productive recruitment among RDS samples of men who have sex with men and persons who use drugs, but not of women who exchange sex, a group vulnerable to HIV infection. We examined sociodemographic-, behavioral-, exchange-sex-, and protocol-related factors associated with recruitment among seeds (n = 25) and peers (n = 297) in the 2016 New York City National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Study cycle focused on women who exchange sex. Recruiter productivity was significantly associated with not having been recently incarcerated, lower rate of HIV testing, and larger exchange sex networks among seeds, and with HIV-prevention services usage among peers. We describe challenges and lessons learned from implementing RDS in this population. Our study identifies seed characteristics and protocol improvements researchers can utilize when implementing future RDS studies among women who exchange sex.