Testing Together Behaviors in Secondary Distribution of HIV/Syphilis Self-testing Program Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in China

Overview

Journal AIDS Behav

Specialty Infectious Diseases

Date 2022 Oct 14

PMID 36239880

Authors

Peipei Zhao

Yi Zhou

Yuxin Ni

Ying Lu

Shanzi Huang

Junjun Yang

Weiming Tang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

HIV self-testing (HIVST) is recommended as a promising way to increase HIV testing uptake among MSM. MSM sometimes used HIVST kits together with their sexual partners or friends. However, limited data was reported on MSM's testing together behaviors with sexual partners and non-sexual contacts. Data were collected among MSM in China from June 2018 to June 2019. Eligible participants (referred to as "index participants") finished a baseline survey and applied for HIVST kits. They were encouraged to distribute the kits to other people (referred to as "alters"). Index participants finished a 3-month follow-up survey on the distribution and usage of the kits. Alters finished an online survey on the usage of HIVST kits after they returned the photographed testing results. Results were reported based on index participants and alters, respectively. Based on follow-up data, 138 index participants successfully motivated others for HIVST, most of them (77.5%) tested together with at least one alter. Around half of alters (52.3%) reported testing together with index participants. Index participants distributed more HIVST kits to friends than sexual partners. MSM who had ever tested for HIV were more likely to test together. Our study demonstrated that the testing together behaviors during HIVST distribution among sexual partners and social network contacts were common. The social network-based approach is essential in promoting testing together and HIV status disclosure among MSM.

Citing Articles

Online distribution of HIV self-testing kits to promote HIV testing among men who have sex with men discontinuing pre-exposure prophylaxis after demonstration project completion in China: a multicentre open-label randomized controlled trial.

Zhou H, Zhu Y, Gao Y, Chu Z, Chen S, Liu M Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2023; 41:100922.

PMID: 37867621 PMC: 10587720. DOI: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2023.100922.

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