High Risk Men Who Have Sex with Men in Spain Are Reporting Low Intentions of Actively Seeking HIV Testing: Results from a Cross-sectional Study

Overview

Journal BMC Public Health

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Public Health

Date 2020 Mar 29

PMID 32216783

Citations 2

Authors

Juan Hoyos

Kostas Koutentakis

Tomas Mate

Jose Pulido

Luis Sordo

Juan-Miguel Guerras

Maria-Jose Belza

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: We analyse unprotected anal intercourses (UAI) self-reported by a sample of men who have sex with men (MSM), by their future testing intentions and past testing history to identify undertested subpopulations that could be contributing to onward transmission.

Methods: We recruited MSM through gay dating websites in Spain from September 2012 to April 2013. For MSM at risk of acquiring or unknowingly transmitting HIV (at risk hereafter) we calculate time at risk, number of UAI in the last 12 months and last 5 years by testing intention (low intention (LI), Medium intention (MI), high intention (HI)) and past testing history. For never testers we analyse the reasons for not having been tested.

Results: Of 3272 MSM at risk, 19.8% reported LI of testing. MSM with LI reported the longest period at risk (8.49 years (p < 0.001)) and reported 3.20 UAI/person in the last 12 months (vs. 3.23 and 2.56 in MSM with HI and MI (p < 0.001)) and 12.90 UAI/person in the last 5 years (vs. 8.07 and 9.82 in MSM with HI and MI (p < 0.001)). Those with LI accounted for 21 and 27% of all the UA acts occurring in the last 12 months and the last 5 years. Among never testers (40.6%), those with LI reported lower risk perception (p = 0.006).

Conclusion: We identified a group of high risk and undertested MSM that could be behind a substantial proportion of the UAIs with potential of transmission/acquisition of HIV. Given their low willingness to seek an HIV test and low risk perception, they constitute a population that will probably require approaches other than client initiated strategies.

Citing Articles

HIV and STI Testing Preferences for Men Who Have Sex with Men in High-Income Countries: A Scoping Review.

Kularadhan V, Gan J, Chow E, Fairley C, Ong J Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(5).

PMID: 35270694 PMC: 8910668. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19053002.

Acceptability of HIV self-testing is low among men who have sex with men who have not tested for HIV: a study with respondent-driven sampling in Brazil.

Magno L, Leal A, Knauth D, Dourado I, Crosland Guimaraes M, Santana E BMC Infect Dis. 2020; 20(1):865.

PMID: 33213389 PMC: 7678175. DOI: 10.1186/s12879-020-05589-0.

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