摘要
Background:Men who have sex with men(MSM)has become the group with the fastest growing HIV epidemic in China.Since many Chinese MSM are conducting HIV self-testing,we aimed to determine the rate of HIV care seeking after self-testing,examine characteristics of“seekers”compared to“non-seekers,”and explore factors associated with HIV care-seeking behaviour.Methods:A cross-sectional study design was used and an online survey was conducted in Beijing,China in 2016,among users of a popular Chinese gay networking smart phone application.Chi-square test was used to compare characteristics of those who sought HIV care(“seekers”)and those who did not(“non-seekers”).Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess factors associated with HIV care seeking.Results:Among 21,785 screened,2383 participants(10.9%)were included in the study.A total of 380 participants(15.9%)reported seeking HIV care after HIV self-testing while 2003(84.1%)did not.Lack of knowledge of the“window period”(adjusted odds ratio[AOR]=0.68,95%confidence interval[95%CI]=0.47-0.97,P=0.04)was associated with reduced odds of seeking HIV care,while lower monthly income(AOR=1.29,95%CI=1.03-1.62,P=0.03)and obtaining HIV self-testing kits from health facilities(AOR=2.40,95%CI=1.81-3.17,P<0.001),and non-governmental organizations(AOR=2.44,95%CI=1.79-3.34,P<0.001)was associated with increased odds of seeking HIV care.Among those who sought HIV care,a large majority(92.4%)had non-reactive HIV self-testing results.Only 29 out of 265 with reactive,uncertain,or unknown results sought HIV care.Conclusions:We found a very low rate of HIV care seeking among our sample of urban Chinese MSM.The observation that most with reactive,uncertain,or unknown results did not seek HIV care is a cause for concern.These people should be paid more attention and helped to enter the care cascade.Our findings highlight that interventions aimed at improving linkage to care after HIV self-testing are urgently needed.However,further study is required to inform the design and implementation of future interventions aiming to encourage HIV care-seeking behaviour.
基金
The study was supported by the National Health and Family Planning Commission,the People’s Republic of China,with grant numbers 131-14-000-105-01 and 2012ZX10001-007.The funding agency has no role in design and conduct of the study
collection,management,analysis,and interpretation of the data,or preparation,review,and approval of the manuscript。
