Ecological association between Grindr user characteristics and HIV prevalence in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: 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’s rank-order correlation to evaluate whether geosocial networking platform data offer insights into regional HIV epidemiology. Results: A significant positive correlation was observed be..