To Weight or Not to Weight in Time-location Sampling: Why Not Do Both?

Excerpt

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are the risk group most affected by HIV/AIDS in the United States (US), accounting for an estimated three-fourth (78 %) of new infections among men and nearly two-thirds (63 %) of all new infections in 2010 [1]. There is a long history of behavioral surveillance among MSM in the US and elsewhere [2‐4]. The majority of such studies have used some form of venue-based sampling, a strategy in which MSM are recruited from public venues frequented by MSM, such as clubs, bars, bathhouses, bookstores, streets, parks and, in some cases, public events [5, 6]. It is not only effective to sample MSM from public venues where the target population congregates, but also relevant that the data collected on the population directly affect venue-based interventions. Sampling men from MSM-frequented venues allows a more direct assessment of the effect of a given intervention or the need a proposed intervention might fill. …