Written by: Jorge Rivas, Jennifer Wheeler, Marcos Rodas and Susana Lungo
Abstract: Most countries in Central America have HIV epidemics concentrated among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TW), with prevalence in these populations ranging from 8% in Nicaragua to 26% in El Salvador. High levels of stigma and discrimination coupled with this heavy HIV burden create a major challenge for efforts to reach these populations and combat the epidemic. The Pan-American Social Marketing Organization (PASMO) developed a combination prevention intervention in Central America that delivers HIV prevention behaviour change communication (BCC) messages, products, services, and referrals to promote improved condom and condom-compatible lubricant use, HIV testing, violence reporting and the use of complementary services. As part of this program, an online “cyber-educator” intervention for MSM, consisting of virtual one-on-one BCC and HIV counseling and testing referrals, was launched through existing chat-rooms and websites. Participants were tracked using a confidential unique identifier code (UIC). In 2013, 7,219 MSM UICs were recorded. Created as a response to social media evolution, this intervention successfully illustrates how innovative HIV prevention education can reach populations most-at-risk for HIV.
Keywords: MSM, social media, peer educators, HIV, Central America