Josh Grimm

PrEP on Twitter: Information, Barriers, and Stigma

Abstract On May 14, 2014 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsed the drug Truvada as an HIV preventative, called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP has been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of HIV infection, but its rate of adoption has been slow, and discourse surrounding it has been marked by stigma and uncertainty. The purpose of this study was to investigate how PrEP was discussed on Twitter. Our analysis focused on barriers to PrEP adoption and stigmatization of PrEP users. We analyzed a random sample of 1,093 top tweets about PrEP posted to Twitter a year before and a year after the CDC’s endorsement. Our results showed that tweets likely reinforced uncertainty about barriers to PrEP adoption and that users employed Twitter’s functionality to counter stigmatizing narratives about PrEP. We suggest that our findings illuminate both the limitations and strengths of Twitter as a mechanism for health promotion.

Uncertainty in Online U.S. News Coverage of Truvada

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to analyze the frequency of incidents of uncertainty in online news articles about Truvada, a drug used to prevent HIV infection. Using a coding scheme that synthesized uncertainty research from health disciplines and communication studies, we analyzed 235 articles from the most-read United States-based news websites. Our results showed that 80.4% of articles contained at least one incident of uncertainty, that articles contained significantly more incidents of uncertainty before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsed Truvada compared to after the CDC endorsed the drug, and that articles mentioning men who have sex with men (MSM) contained significantly more incidents of uncertainty than articles in which they were not mentioned.

Cast Aside: Journalists’ perceptions of citizen journalists’ content during the Boston marathon bombings

This paper examines the role of user-generated content in a traditional news organization during the coverage of the Boston marathon bombings. In-depth interviews were conducted with the journalists who made up the interactive team at the Boston Globe. The interactive team was in charge of the live blog during the week-long coverage of the marathon bombings. The study identifies the perceptions journalists hold of user-generated content during crisis reporting and the impact user-generated content had during the tense coverage. The findings suggest that user-generated content has a good way to go before being considered an integral part of breaking news content.

Online News Coverage of Preexposure Prophylaxis

Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV continues to be a serious issue, especially for men who have sex with men (MSM). A new means of HIV prevention, called preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), significantly reduces the chance of HIV infection. However, adoption of the drug has been slow. In this study, a content analysis of 234 online news articles about PrEP from popular U.S. news Web sites was conducted, focusing on how articles were framed in terms of benefits to PrEP, barriers to PrEP, the severity of HIV, and the susceptibility of MSM to HIV. Results showed that coverage contained conflicting information about PrEP and failed to cast HIV as a serious problem.

Tenacity of Routine: The Absence of Geo-Ethnic Storytelling in Constructing Immigration News Coverage

In 2006, millions of immigrants protested in cities around the United States against H.R. 4437, a new bill in Congress that threatened to criminalize undocumented immigrants and strengthen border enforcement. For this study, I interviewed immigration editors and reporters at California newspapers about the discourse surrounding this bill to determine the presence and/or prevalence of geo-ethnic storytelling, which posits that racial and geographic location of a particular subject community creates a unique network for the way journalists tell and understand stories. This study suggests that although reporters and editors acknowledge the importance of their own sense of race and community in creating reports, the journalistic norms of fairness and objectivity were more influential than geo-ethnic storytelling, suggesting the resilience of news routines and values despite changes in the field and an issue couched in race.

Stigma Communication Surrounding PrEP: The Experiences of A Sample of Men Who Have Sex With Men

ABSTRACT HIV is a serious problem in the USA, particularly for men who have sex with men (MSM). A new means of HIV prevention, called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), has been shown to be highly effective. However, in spite of earning FDA approval, adoption of PrEP by MSM has been limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of a sample of 38 MSM who have adopted PrEP, focusing on communication with healthcare providers and social networks. In-depth interviews were used to collect data. Findings revealed that stigmatization by healthcare providers as well as stigmatization by other MSM was a relatively common experience for participants. Additionally, participants described that a high level of health literacy, health advocacy, and communication skill were necessary to adopt PrEP. Given these findings, strategies are suggested for improving MSM’s healthcare and increasing rates of PrEP adoption.

Body Talk: Body Image Commentary on Queerty.com.

ABSTRACT In this study, we conducted a content analysis of 243 photographic images of men published on the gay male-oriented blog Queerty.com. We also analyzed 435 user-generated comments from a randomly selected 1-year sample. Focusing on images’ body types, we found that the range of body types featured on the blog was quite narrow—the vast majority of images had very low levels of body fat and very high levels of muscularity. Users’ body image–related comments typically endorsed and celebrated images; critiques of images were comparatively rare. Perspectives from objectification theory and social comparison theory suggest that the images and commentary found on the blog likely reinforce unhealthy body image in gay male communities.

Hegemonic Framing of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., in Northeastern Newspapers

This study explores how Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., were portrayed in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Boston Globe. Drawing on concepts of hegemony and racism, a textual analysis was conducted to examine coverage of each man. Through this framing, Malcolm X was labeled as a deviant while Martin Luther King, Jr., was embraced as a righteous leader. These characterizations reinforced hegemonic power structures while challenging the established “protest paradigm.”

‘It’s like birth control for HIV’: Communication and stigma for gay men on PrEP

ABSTRACT This study focuses on how gay men communicate about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), focusing on how they learned about PrEP, how they discussed adoption with health care providers, and to what extent they have encountered stigma on social networks. In this qualitative study, 39 gay PrEP users were interviewed about PrEP. A majority of the participants learned about PrEP via friends and potential sex partners, and a majority of the participants experienced stigma from their health care provider and from other gay men online, mainly referring to promiscuity and risks of STIs. The authors recommend that health care providers should be trained in minimizing the expression of stigmatizing attitudes and should increase their knowledge of PrEP.

Rape, storytelling and social media: how Twitter interrupted the news media’s ability to construct collective memory

Abstract This study, using the Mary Kay LeTourneau interview on ABC’s 20/20 television program, investigates how social media coupled with citizens’ voices interact with mainstream media in the telling of a story and the construction of collective memory. Grounded in discourse analysis, this research examines the 20/20 story and accompanying Twitter conversations to understand how dominant and feminist ideologies about gender, rape, sexual violence, sexuality, and love are presented and (re)articulated in these texts. In doing so, this study considers how a newly opened public sphere via social media may have the capabilities to influence our collective memories and remove some of this long-held power away from traditional mainstream media.