Knowledge, actual and potential use of <scp>HIV</scp> self‐sampling testing kits among <scp>MSM</scp> recruited in eight European countries.

Hoyos, Juan; Maté, Tomás; Indave, BI; Agustí, Cristina; Chanos, Sophocles; Pichon, François; Kuske, Matthias; Cigan, Bojan; Fuertes, Ricardo; Ooms, Lieselot; Stefanescu, Roxana; Vaca, C Cabeza de; Arranz, Beatriz Carramolino; Fuente, Luis de la; Belza, MJ

doi:10.1111/hiv.12593

Cited by 10 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(17 reference statements)

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“…Previous studies have reported the promising potential of HIVST to increase access to testing in MSM who report a high willingness to use this testing method [ 24 , 28 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. However, these studies assessed HIVST in isolation with yes/no questions, such as “Would you have used self-testing in the past if already available?”.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This article was carried out in the context of the EURO HIV EDAT project (operational knowledge to improve HIV early diagnosis and treatment among vulnerable groups in Europe) (grant agreement number 2013 11 01). Further information can be found elsewhere [ 24 ]. The project was approved by the ethical committee of investigation and animal welfare of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CEI PI 52_2015-v2) and the Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol (PI-14-106).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies among MSM have proven that although awareness of HIVST is modest [ 24 , 25 ], they report a high willingness to use this testing method [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. However, all the aforementioned studies analyzed self-testing in isolation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preference towards HIV Self-Testing above Other Testing Options in a Sample of Men Who Have Sex with Men from Five European Countries

Hoyos

Maté

Guerras

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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We analyzed men who have sex with men (MSM) from Denmark, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Spain to identify who would choose HIV self-testing as their preferred testing method and assessed their preferred setting to acquire a self-testing kit and to confirm a reactive result. In 2016, we recruited an online sample of 3725 HIV-negative MSM. We used Poisson regression to identify factors associated with choosing self-testing as the preferred testing option. For those choosing it as their preferred option, we assessed the preferred settings to acquire a self-testing kit and to confirm a reactive result. Not being open about one’s sexual behaviors with men was associated with choosing self-testing as the preferred option, except in Greece; older age in Greece and Spain; reporting condomless anal intercourses (CAI) in Germany and Portugal; reporting one previous test in Greece; between 2 and 5 in Spain and with having been tested ≥ 12 months ago in Germany, Portugal and Spain. The internet (32.8%) was the preferred place to acquire a self-testing kit and primary care (34.0%) for confirmation purposes. Self-testing was highly valued, especially among individuals who were not open about their sexual behaviors with men. In certain countries, it was also associated with older age, CAI and being undertested.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Preference towards HIV Self-Testing above Other Testing Options in a Sample of Men Who Have Sex with Men from Five European Countries

Hoyos

Maté

Guerras

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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“…Previous studies conducted in Spain and other European countries have described that MSM have a modest knowledge of the existence of HIV-ST [17,18] but tend to be supportive of it [19,20] and report a high willingness to use it [18][19][20]. Nevertheless, a recent large European online study, [21] suggests that self-testing is still a residual option in Spain and in the rest of the European continent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The incorporation of HIV self-testing as an exclusive option among men who have sex with men in Spain: results of an online cross-sectional study

et al. 2020

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Background We assessed to what extent HIV self-testing would be incorporated by men who have sex with men (MSM) with previous testing history as their exclusive testing option and describe what actions they would take in the case of obtaining a reactive self-test. Methods We conducted an online survey among Spanish resident MSM recruited mainly in gay dating apps and analyze 6171 ever tested individuals. We used Poisson regression to estimate factors associated with the incorporation of self-testing as the exclusive testing option. Among those who would incorporate self-testing as their exclusive option, we described actions taken if obtaining a reactive self-test by number of tests in the past. Results Nearly half of the participants (48.3%) were > =35 years old, 84.6% were born in Spain, 57.9% had attained a university degree, 55.1% lived in a municipality of ≤500.000 and 86.4% self-identified as homosexual. For 37.2%, self-testing would become their exclusive testing option. The incorporation of self-testing as the exclusive option increased with age 25–34 (PR:1.1, 95%CI:1.0–1.3), 35–44 (PR:1.3, 95%CI:1.2–1.5), 45–49 (PR:1.5, 95%CI:1.3–1.7) and > 50 (PR:1.5, 95%CI:1.3–1.8) and in those who reported unprotected anal intercourse (PR:1.1, 95%CI:1.0–1.2) or having paid for sex (PR:1.2, 95%CI:1.0–1.3) in the last 12 months. It was also associated with having had < 10 HIV test in the past (2–9 tests (PR:1.3, 95%CI:1.1–1.4); 1 test (PR:1.5, 95%CI:1.3–1.7)), and having been tested ≥2 years (PR:1.4, 95%CI:1.3–1.5) or between 1 and 2 years ago (PR:1.1, 95%CI:1.0–1.2). Of participants who would use self-testing exclusively 76.6% would confirm their result in case of obtaining a reactive self-test and only 6.1% wouldn’t know how to react. Only one individual expressed that he would do nothing at all. Conclusion HIV self-testing could become the exclusive testing option for more than a third of our participants. It was chosen as the exclusive option especially by older, at risk and under-tested MSM. Self-testing strategies need to especially consider the linkage to care process. In this sense, only a small fraction would not know how to react and virtually nobody reported taking no action if obtaining a reactive result.

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“…With the exception of examples in the United Kingdom [13], Belgium [14,15], and Spain [16], this strategy has rarely been studied in Europe [17], and its capacity for increasing the HIV testing frequency among GBMSM remains unknown. Additionally, a key element that needs to be factored in when considering the introduction of self-sampling as an additional testing strategy is the preference regarding methods of result communication and if it would change depending on the result received.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential of HIV Self-Sampling to Increase Testing Frequency Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men, and the Role of Online Result Communication: Online Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

Enríquez¹,

Hoyos²,

Guerras³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BACKGROUND Late HIV diagnosis remains frequent among the gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) population across Europe. HIV self-sampling could help remove barriers and facilitate access to testing for this high-risk population. OBJECTIVE We assessed the capacity of HIV self-sampling to increase the testing frequency among GBMSM living in Denmark, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Romania, and Spain, and evaluated the role of new technologies in the result communication phase. METHODS We analyzed a convenience sample of 5019 GBMSM with prior HIV testing experience who were recruited during 2016 through gay dating websites. We estimated the proportion of GBMSM who reported that the availability of self-sampling would result in an increase of their current testing frequency. We constructed a Poisson regression model for each country to calculate prevalence ratios and 95% CIs of factors associated with an increase of testing frequency as a result of self-sampling availability. RESULTS Overall, 59% (between country range 54.2%-77.2%) of the participants considered that they would test more frequently for HIV if self-sampling was available in their country. In the multivariate analysis, the increase of testing frequency as a result of self-sampling availability was independently associated with reporting a higher number of unprotected anal intercourse events in all countries except for Greece. Independent associations were also observed among GBMSM who were not open about their sex life in Germany, Greece, Portugal, and Spain; those with a lower number of previous HIV tests in Denmark, Greece, Portugal, and Spain; and for those that took their last test more than 3 months previously in Germany, Portugal, Romania, and Spain. In addition, 58.4% (range 40.5%-73.6%) of the participants indicated a preference for learning their result through one-way interaction methods, mainly via email (25.6%, range 16.8%-35.2%) and through a secure website (20.3%, range 7.3%-23.7%). Almost two thirds (65%) of GBMSM indicated preferring one of these methods even if the result was reactive. CONCLUSIONS Availability of HIV self-sampling kits as an additional testing methodology would lead to a much-needed increase of testing frequency, especially for the hidden, high-risk, and undertested GBMSM population. Online-based technologies without any personal interaction were preferred for the communication of the results, even for reactive results.

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Knowledge, actual and potential use of HIV self‐sampling testing kits among MSM recruited in eight European countries.

Cited by 10 publications

References 15 publications

Preference towards HIV Self-Testing above Other Testing Options in a Sample of Men Who Have Sex with Men from Five European Countries

Preference towards HIV Self-Testing above Other Testing Options in a Sample of Men Who Have Sex with Men from Five European Countries

The incorporation of HIV self-testing as an exclusive option among men who have sex with men in Spain: results of an online cross-sectional study

Potential of HIV Self-Sampling to Increase Testing Frequency Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men, and the Role of Online Result Communication: Online Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

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