Utilization of facility-based HIV testing and associated factors among men who have sex with men in Shanghai

ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of facility-based HIV testing and its associated factors among men who have sex with men （MSM） in Shanghai.

MethodsFrom June 2018 to December 2020， MSM were recruited by a community organization “Shanghai CSW&MSM Center （SCMC）”. A total of 3 251 MSM were included as follows： being 18 years old and above， being HIV-negative or with unknown HIV status， living in Shanghai， had homosexual behavior in the past year， and completed informed consent. Using a self-designed questionnaire， we performed an online survey powered by www.wjx.cn to collect information on demographics， sexual behavior， and facility-based HIV testing. A total of 3 240 valid questionnaires were collected. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine the factors associated with facility-based HIV testing.

ResultsA total of 3 240 MSM participated in the study with mean age of （29.7±6.2） years .The prevalence of facility-based HIV testing was 63.2% （2 049/3 240）， Multivariate logistic regression showed that the participants with a college degree or above were less likely to have facility-based HIV testing（OR=0.73，P=0.008）， compared to those with lower educational background. The proportion of the MSM who sought sexual partners through the internet received facility-based testing was 68.7%. Compared to the participants with the sexual role being 0 （only be penetrated）， those being 0.5 （both penetrated and be penetrated） and 1 （only penetrated） were both more likely to have the HIV testing （both P<0.05）. Those who used condoms during the last homosexual behavior were more likely to be tested than those who did not （OR=1.39， P=0.001）. Those who had been diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases were more likely to be tested than those who did not （OR=2.05， P<0.001）. The participants who had used HIV self-testing kits in the past were more likely to be tested than those who did not （OR=2.31， P<0.001）.

ConclusionMSM in Shanghai have lower utilization of facility-based HIV testing， which may be improved by strengthening the advocacy of facility-based HIV testing services through the internet and peer education， and innovating service models.