Crowdsourcing is Acceptable to Develop Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Promotions in Alabama: A Qualitative Study with Sexual Minority Men and Sexual Health Providers

IntroductionCrowdsourcing engages the community to create and share solutions; this participatory method could be used to create effective pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) promotions. We explored acceptability of using crowdsourcing to develop PrEP promotions among sexual minority men (SMM) and sexual health providers in Alabama.MethodsWe conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) with SMM and interviews with sexual health providers with guides grounded in the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability. We employed thematic analysis through deductive and inductive coding.ResultsTen SMM (60% Black, 50% younger than 30 years) participated in FGDs, and six providers completed interviews. We found four themes: 1) Personal identity and background inform the participation and products of crowdsourcing, 2) SMM and providers are motivated to participate in crowdsourcing, 3) Crowdsourcing participants require resources to effectively engage, and 4) Logistic and social factors are barriers to crowdsourcing participation.DiscussionCrowdsourcing as a strategy to create PrEP promotions in the Southern United states would be acceptable and feasible in the correct context. These formative, yet novel, findings demonstrate that SMM and sexual health providers would be willing to participate in crowdsourcing events and also provide key insight to design crowdsourcing events.