Web-Based Behavioral Surveillance Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Comparison of Online and Offline Samples in London, UK

Abstract

The Internet offers valuable opportunities for conducting behavioral surveillance among MSM because it reaches some men who may not be easily accessed in the community yet who are at high risk for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. Comparisons of the social, demographic, and behavioral characteristics of online and offline samples must, however, take into account the confounding effects of HIV status and seeking sex on the Internet.