Raising Awareness About COVID-19 Among Sexual Minority Men of Color: Sex and the Coronavirus, 2020

Abstract

Disparities among vulnerable and marginalized populations have become central in the global conversation about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Currently, avoiding exposure to the virus is the most effective community mitigation strategy. However, limited health promotion interventions have been targeted to sexual minority men of color. Social media can offer opportunities for engaging a high number of sexual minority men of color across wide geographical areas. Sex and the Coronavirus is a health promotion campaign to raise awareness about COVID-19 and to enhance physical distancing practices among sexual minority men of color. The campaign showcased seven graphic stories launched on Instagram and Facebook. The stories revolved around challenges of adhering and negotiating physical distancing practices among sexual minority men of color. The characters and situations were based on the experiences and preferences of community members in New York City. We then culturally adapted the content to a United Kingdom audience by changing language and scenery. As of July 2020, more than 34,675 social media users were exposed to the campaign. The graphic stories elicited 2,872 likes, 102 comments, 236 bookmarks, 1,520 shares. The PDF version of the stories was downloaded 900 times. Findings suggest that graphic stories can be effective as part of a health promotion strategy to raise awareness on COVID-19. The strategy was effective in reaching a wide population of sexual minority men of color across broad geographical areas. Targeted culturally and structurally sensitive responses to the COVID-19 crisis are essential to achieve health equity.