Sociodemographic and Psychological Predictors of Seeking Health Information Online among GB2M in Ontario: Findings from the #iCruise Project

Abstract

Objectives

The current study examines the experiences of gay, bisexual, two-spirit and other men who have sex with men (GB2M) who use networking applications and their engagements with online sexual health outreach workers disseminating healthcare information through these digital spaces.

Methods

The iCruise study was a longitudinal mixed-methods study across Ontario, Canada which collected data on online sexual health information seeking behaviors.

Results

Results offer insight into differences in information seeking behaviors among diverse groups of queer men.

Conclusions

Implications for the dissemination of health information based on the results of information seeking patterns is discussed as well.

Keywords:

• Health seeking behaviors
• queer men
• online information dissemination

Acknowledgements

Our deepest gratitude to our Community Advisory Board who helped guide the direction of this research.

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this work was supported by the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research and CIHR [grant #144830]. Dr. Brennan’s and Dr. Hart’s work are supported by OHTN Endgame Leadership Chair Awards. NJL is supported by a Scholar Award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research [#16863].