Knowledge and perceptions on the existence of Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) Centers and associated factors among Brazilian LGBT+ individuals

Abstract

In Brazil, the advent of voluntary and counseling testing (VCT) has provided many benefits in the fight against AIDS. A sectional open web survey was conducted to investigate the Brazilian LGBT+ individuals’ knowledge and perceptions of the existence of VCT centers and their associations with risk behavior and other variables of interest. The study instrument included questions on sociodemographic and behavioral variables, knowledge on VCT, access to and use of it, beliefs about HIV infection, test results, and risk perception. The Risk Behavior Score for HIV infection (RBS) was also used. A total of 1,630 volunteers participated in the survey, of whom 56.8% were men. Of these, 96.1% declared themselves as (MSM). Almost 50% of the participants had never heard about the existence of VCT, which was a higher knowledge score among MSM. A low frequency of participants had a clear perception of the risks to which they are exposed, whereas those with higher RBS were aware of the existence of VCT. As VCT is critical for the implementation of policies to combat and prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, our results can contribute to a better understanding of the influence of VCT on the frequency of testing, serological surveillance, and routine counseling for key populations.