{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T01:20:03Z","timestamp":1787880003714,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]],"date-time":"2026-06-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781827200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787875200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":70,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Res Notes"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Men who have sex with men in Malaysia face a high HIV burden, but demographic, behavioral, and digital health data remain limited by social constraints. This nationwide, cross-sectional ecological study utilized a grid-based geographic sampling method to systematically collect publicly accessible Grindr profiles across all Malaysian states and federal territories. Population-normalized Grind user rates, profile characteristics, and regional people living with HIV rates were analyzed using Spearman\u2019s rank-order correlation to evaluate whether geosocial networking platform data offer insights into regional HIV epidemiology.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A significant positive correlation was observed between population-normalized Grindr user rates and PLHIV rates (\n                      <jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\n                      <jats:sub>\n                        <jats:italic>s<\/jats:italic>\n                      <\/jats:sub>\n                      = 0.5821,\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.0252). While unadjusted analyses showed nominal positive correlations between regional PLHIV rates and specific profile characteristics, none maintained significance following false discovery rate correction (\n                      <jats:italic>Q<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20095%). This lack of post-correction significance is driven by the limited statistical power of the regional sample size (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u200916) and high percentages of profile non-disclosure. Thus, while grid-based sampling systematically assesses digital user density, individual profile characteristics cannot reliably indicate regional HIV prevalence when data omissions are widespread.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s13104-026-07920-5","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]],"date-time":"2026-06-19T01:21:42Z","timestamp":1781832102000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Ecological association between Grindr user characteristics and HIV prevalence in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Hakimi","family":"Kassim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kamarul","family":"Ismail","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Md Enamul","family":"Huq","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hein Htet","family":"Aung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ethan Trey","family":"Cardwell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fabian Yuh Shiong","family":"Kong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"7920_CR1","unstructured":"Yuswan F, Mat SN, Sulaiman WMN. Global AIDS Monitoring 2025: Country Progress Report: Malaysia. Ministry of Health Malaysia; 2025."},{"key":"7920_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e4353","DOI":"10.2196\/publichealth.4353","volume":"1","author":"WC Goedel","year":"2015","unstructured":"Goedel WC, Duncan DT. Geosocial-Networking App Usage Patterns of Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men: Survey Among Users of Grindr, A Mobile Dating App. JMIR Public Health Surveillance. 2015;1:e4353.","journal-title":"JMIR Public Health Surveillance"},{"key":"7920_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e10316","DOI":"10.2196\/10316","volume":"6","author":"DT Duncan","year":"2018","unstructured":"Duncan DT, Park SH, Hambrick HR, Dangerfield DT, Ii, Goedel WC, Brewer R, et al. Characterizing geosocial-networking app use among young black men who have sex with men: A multi-city cross-sectional survey in the southern United States. JMIR MHealth UHealth. 2018;6:e10316.","journal-title":"JMIR MHealth UHealth"},{"key":"7920_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e120","DOI":"10.2196\/mhealth.5600","volume":"4","author":"J Rhoton","year":"2016","unstructured":"Rhoton J, Wilkerson JM, Mengle S, Patankar P, Rosser BRS, Ekstrand ML. Sexual Preferences and Presentation on Geosocial Networking Apps by Indian Men Who Have Sex With Men in Maharashtra. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2016;4:e120.","journal-title":"JMIR Mhealth Uhealth"},{"key":"7920_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e249","DOI":"10.2196\/jmir.3523","volume":"16","author":"KP Delaney","year":"2014","unstructured":"Delaney KP, Kramer MR, Waller LA, Flanders WD, Sullivan PS. Using a geolocation social networking application to calculate the population density of sex-seeking gay men for research and prevention services. 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The requirement for informed consent was waived by the committee because this research employed an in-app observational methodology that analyzed publicly available Grindr profile information without direct user interaction. No personally identifiable information was recorded. This observational methodology is consistent with methodologies used in previous geosocial networking application studies [\n                      \n                      ,\n                      \n                      ,\n                      \n                      ], in which publicly accessible profile data were passively observed without user solicitation or engagement. Nevertheless, the use of publicly accessible digital platform data may still raise concerns regarding user privacy expectations and the use of profile information for research purposes.","order":1,"name":"Ethics","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","label":"Consent for publication","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","label":"Competing interests","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}}],"article-number":"337"}}