Citation

Wray TB, Pérez AE, Celio MA, Carr DJ, Adia AC, Monti PM. Alcohol Clin. Exp. Res. 2019; 43(5): 900-906.

Affiliation

Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, 02906.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/acer.13991

PMID

30802318

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Geofencing offers new opportunities to study how specific environments affect alcohol use and related behavior. In this study, we examined the feasibility of using geofencing to examine social/environmental factors related to alcohol use and sexual perceptions in a sample of gay and bisexual men (GBM) who engage in heavy drinking and high-risk sex.

METHODS: HIV-negative GBM (N=76) completed ecological momentary assessments for 30 days via a smartphone application, and were prompted to complete surveys when inside general geofences set around popular bars and clubs. A subset (N = 45) were also asked to complete surveys when inside personal geofences, which participants set themselves by identifying locations where they typically drank heavily.

RESULTS: Approximately 49% of participants received a survey prompted by a general geofence. Among those who identified at least one personal drinking location, 62.2% received a personal geofence-prompted survey. Of the 175 total location-based surveys, 40.2% occurred when participants were not at the location that was intended to be captured. Participants reported being most able to openly express themselves at gay bars/clubs and private residences, but these locations were also more "sexualized" than general bars/clubs. Participants did not drink more heavily at gay bars/clubs, but did when in locations with more intoxicated patrons or guests.

CONCLUSIONS: Geofencing has the potential to improve the validity of studies exploring environmental influences on drinking. However, the high number of "false positive" prompts we observed suggests that geofences should be used carefully until improvements in precision are more widely available. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Alcohol use; context; ecological momentary assessment; ecology; gay and bisexual men; geospatial data; location