Factors predicting first-time hepatitis C virus testing uptake among men who have sex with men in China: an observational prospective cohort study

Abstract

ObjectivesMen who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV). This study investigated predictors of first-time HCV testing uptake during a 6-month period among a sample of MSM in Hong Kong.MethodsParticipants were 351 Chinese-speaking MSM who had never received HCV testing. Participants completed two telephone surveys 6 months apart. At baseline, participants reported on sociodemographics, sexual behaviours, risk perception, depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms. Illness representations, which refers to how people think about HCV, was measured by the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) at baseline. The BIPQ assessed identity (identifying symptoms of HCV), timeline (whether HCV is acute/chronic), consequences (severity of HCV), personal control and treatment control (whether HCV is under volitional control), concern, emotions (anger, guilt or shame) and coherence (overall comprehensibility of HCV). Six months later, participants reported on HCV testing uptake. Logistic regression was used to analyse the associations between baseline predictors and HCV testing uptake.ResultsMost participants were aged ≤30 years (55.0%) and had attained college education or above (85.2%). Among 242 participants (68.9%) who completed the month 6 follow-up, 12.4% had tested for HCV during the follow-up period. After adjustment for HIV testing and chemsex in the last year, participants who perceived more severe consequences of HCV reported higher HCV testing uptake (adjusted ORs (AOR): 2.22, 95% CI: 1.65 to 3.00). Belief that treatment can control HCV (AOR: 1.75, 95% CI: 1.35 to 2.26) and having negative emotions related to HCV (AOR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.25 to 2.03) were also positively associated with HCV testing uptake.ConclusionsTargeted health promotion efforts are needed to increase HCV testing among MSM in Hong Kong. Healthcare workers engaged in HCV-related programming should consider modifying the illness representations of HCV. Integrating HCV and HIV testing services may also be beneficial.

What facilitates hepatitis B and hepatitis C testing and the role of stigma among primary care patients in China?

“…Our data suggest a low HCV test uptake among the general population. This is consistent with data from among men who had sex with men (MSM) who had never tested for HCV infection 28 but lower than the 41% uptake rate found among MSM in a recent…”

Illness representations on pneumonia and pneumococcal vaccination uptake among community-living Chinese people with high-risk conditions aged ≥65 years --- a population-based study

“…The dimension of treatment control was associated with both PV uptake among all participants and behavioral intention to take up PV among unvaccinated aging adults. In general, treatment control is significantly associated with uptake of seasonal influenza vaccination, 24 hepatitis C virus testing, 27 and treatment adherence to some chronic diseases (e.g., asthma, hypertension). 29 Beliefs in treatment control of pneumonia may be related to perceived efficacy of PV, which has shown to be significantly associated with behaviors and intentions related to PV.…”

“…Emotional representations are defined as the extent to which individuals are emotionally affected by the illness (e.g., feeling anger, guilt, or shame). 23 This concept has also been expanded to explain health behaviors among healthy individuals, including uptake of influenza vaccination, [24][25][26] hepatitis C virus testing, 27 cancer screening, 28 and self-care practices for chronic diseases. 29,30 There is a dearth of studies investigating illness representations on pneumonia and association with PV uptake, a potential coping response.…”

Illness perception about hepatitis C virus infection: a cross-sectional study from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan

“…Various studies have revealed that illness perception impacts coping behavior of individuals which is linked to their health-related outcomes [ 9 – 11 ]. Coping behaviours or strategies are behavioral and cognitive strategies adopted by individuals to manage stress associated with having to live with the disease (e.g., adapting certain kind of physical activity or actively diverting attention from the illness) [ 12 ].…”

“…Langston et al [ 10 ] reported that positive illness perception has successfully improved the mental health condition and lowered the substance abuse in individuals with HCV. On the contrary, Wang et al [ 11 ] and Nergiz et al [ 31 ] associated poor HCV perception of individuals with their negative emotions and anxiety.…”