327562
Providing Online Sexual Health and HIV Outreach for Gay, Bisexual and Other Men who have Sex with Men (MSM): Providers' Ethical Considerations
Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using grounded theory methodology. Online outreach workers and managers (n = 22) were recruited using theoretical sampling. Semi-structured individual interviews (~60 minutes) were conducted with participants to explore the benefits and challenges of online outreach services. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analyses were conducted using NVivo10. Member-checking with participants, analyses by multiple coders and peer-debriefing supported validity and reliability.
Results: Five themes emerged as ethical considerations for the provision of HIV online outreach: (a) managing personal and professional boundaries; (b) conflict of interest; (c) personal self-disclosure; (d) confidentiality and data storage; and (e) provider and client safety. Participants addressed ethical, clinical and professional implications of working in online outreach, and explored ways to manage conflict.
Conclusion: Implications of this analysis for outreach workers, public health researchers and policy-makers are to: (1) understand ethical complexities associated with online HIV prevention and outreach for MSM; (2) foster dialogue to recognize and address potential ethical conflict; and (3) identify competencies and skills to mitigate risk and promote responsive and accessible online HIV outreach.
Learning Areas:
Diversity and cultureEthics, professional and legal requirements
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Describe the ethical considerations identified by front-line outreach workers in the provision of HIV online outreach to gay, bisexual men, and other men who have sex with men.
Keyword(s): Ethics, Technology
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a fourth year doctoral candidate in social work and bioethics. My areas of interest include ethical issues in social work practice, research and education in the LGBTQ population. My dissertation research focuses on the use of surrogacy among partnered gay men in the province of Ontario. I am a member of the University of Toronto's Health Sciences Research Ethics Board, and am affiliated with the Joint Centre for Bioethics.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.