Qualitative assessment of venues for purposive sampling of hard-to-reach youth: an illustration in a Latino community

BACKGROUND: Latino youth suffer disproportionately from unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), but studies of the social context of their sexual behaviors are lacking. GOAL: Our qualitative assessment of recruitment venues in a Latino neighborhood had 3 objectives: to identify venues where youth at risk of unintended pregnancy and STIs could be found; to describe different youth 'crowds'; and to investigate how and where youth meet their sex partners. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted ethnographic interviews with 62 youth recruited primarily from street sites. Mapping of venues was conducted with Map-Info. RESULTS: Youth crowds included the Regulars, gang-related crowds, street-economy affiliated crowds, and female crowds. Maps demonstrated the dominance of the venues in the Mission by gang members. Street sites are important venues for meeting sexual partners. CONCLUSION: The qualitative assessment produced insights and hypotheses that can contribute to the planning of research, outreach, testing, and interventions with Latino youth