Impact of COVID-19 on HIV Prevention Access: A Multi-platform Social Media Infodemiology Study

AIDS Behav. 2023 Jun;27(6):1886-1896. doi: 10.1007/s10461-022-03922-z. Epub 2022 Dec 5.

Abstract

This study seeks to identify and characterize key barriers associated with PrEP therapy as self-reported by users on social media platforms. We used data mining and unsupervised machine learning approaches to collect and analyze COVID-19 and PrEP-related posts from three social media platforms including Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram. Predominant themes detected by unsupervised machine learning and manual annotation included users expressing uncertainty about PrEP treatment adherence due to COVID-19, challenges related to accessibility of clinics, concerns about PrEP costs and insurance coverage, perceived lower HIV risk leading to lack of adherence, and misinformation about PrEP use for COVID-19 prevention.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS; Infodemiology; Minority health; PrEP; Social media.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / prevention & control
  • Data Mining
  • HIV Infections* / economics
  • HIV Infections* / prevention & control
  • HIV Infections* / psychology
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  • Health Services Accessibility*
  • Humans
  • Infodemiology*
  • Insurance Coverage
  • Minority Groups
  • Pandemics
  • Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis*
  • Self Report
  • Social Media*
  • Uncertainty
  • Unsupervised Machine Learning