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NirajWagh_MMSThesis.pdf (1.92 MB)

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Social Media Use and STI Incidence in Men Who Have Sex With Men

Wagh, Niraj
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429810034

Abstract Details

2015, Master of Mathematical Sciences, Ohio State University, Mathematical Sciences.
The emergence of social media in the 21st century has led to an increase in the speed of interacting with new individuals on both intimate and non-intimate levels. In this thesis we explore the use of social media applications (apps) on smartphones and its impact on men who have sex with men (MSM). The purpose of this thesis is two-fold: we first examined if social media use led to a higher rate of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and second, we developed a mathematical model to determine the most effective point of intervention to reduce STI incidence. Our data consisted of 195 men adapted from a prior study conducted by Dr. Cara Rice at the Department of Public Health in Columbus, Ohio. We created and non-dimensionalized a closed susceptible-infected (SI) ordinary differential equation (ODE) model to illustrate how sexually transmitted infections impacted two different MSM populations, one that used social media, and one that did not. The computer software XPP was used to vary the population dynamics in different scenarios to test STI incidence in order to gain insight on efficacy of interventions. Our results showed that those men who use social media apps are more likely to be afflicted with STIs and that the greatest intervention to reduce STI incidence was the use of advertisements on apps and on display in public venues.
Adriana Dawes, PhD (Advisor)
Alison Norris, PhD (Committee Member)
37 p.
Epidemiology; Mathematics; Public Health
Men, Sex, MSM, Sexually Transmitted Infection, STI, Social Media

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wagh, N. (2015). Social Media Use and STI Incidence in Men Who Have Sex With Men [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429810034

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wagh, Niraj. Social Media Use and STI Incidence in Men Who Have Sex With Men. 2015. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429810034.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wagh, Niraj. "Social Media Use and STI Incidence in Men Who Have Sex With Men." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429810034

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1429810034
883
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.