Correlates of prior HIV testing among men who have sex with men in Cameroon: a cross-sectional analysis
Autor: | Matthew LeBreton, Valentin Mondoleba, Stefan Baral, Yves Yomb, Ashley Grosso, Laure Vartan Moukam, Ju Nyeong Park, Sethson Kassegne, Serge Clotaire Billong, Sosthenes Ketende, Erin Papworth, Jean Bosco N. Elat, Jules Eloundou, Isaac Macauley |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Rok vydání: | 2014 |
Předmět: |
Adult
Male medicine.medical_specialty Adolescent Cross-sectional study Epidemiology Sexual Behavior Population HIV Infections Men who have sex with men Condoms Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) Environmental health Prevalence Medicine Humans Mass Screening Cameroon Homosexuality Male education Health behaviors Mass screening Gynecology education.field_of_study Men who have sex with men (MSM) business.industry Public health Prevention Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health virus diseases Homosexuality Middle Aged medicine.disease Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) HIV testing Cross-Sectional Studies Sexual Partners Risk factors Africa HIV/AIDS Biostatistics business Voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) Research Article |
Zdroj: | BMC Public Health |
ISSN: | 1471-2458 |
Popis: | Background Regular HIV testing is vital for timely linkage to the HIV care continuum and ensuring the success of behavioral and biomedical interventions to prevent HIV acquisition. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a key population for HIV prevention, treatment, and care efforts globally. This study measures the factors associated with prior HIV testing among MSM in Cameroon. Methods In 2011, 272 and 239 MSM aged ≥ 18 were recruited from Douala and Yaoundé respectively using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) for a cross-sectional surveillance study. Participants completed a structured socio-behavioral survey and were offered HIV and syphilis testing and counseling. Results The majority of men self-reported ever testing for HIV (81.6%; 413/506) and receiving their last HIV test result (95.4%; 394/413). Testing in the last 12 months was more prevalent in Douala (63.3%; 169/267) compared to Yaoundé (55.9%; 132/236). Median frequency of testing was every 18 months in Douala and every two years in Yaoundé. In multivariate RDS-weighted analysis, correlates of ever testing for HIV in Douala were: having higher than secondary education compared to having secondary education or less (aOR = 3.51, 95% CI: 1.32-9.34), ever accessing a community-based HIV service for MSM (aOR = 3.37, 95% CI: 1.57-7.24) and having ≥4 male oral or anal sexual partners in the past 12 months (aOR = 2.49, 1.08-5.74). In Yaoundé, having higher than secondary education (aOR = 7.96, 95% CI: 1.31-48.41) was associated with ever testing for HIV. Conclusions Supporting regular HIV testing and linkage to care is important in a context of high HIV prevalence and limited use of condoms and condom-compatible lubricants. Building the capacity of MSM organizations and mainstream health services to deliver affordable, integrated, confidential, and MSM-sensitive HIV testing may assist in effectively engaging more MSM in the HIV treatment cascade. Giving specific attention to MSM who are younger, of lower socioeconomic status and less connected to community-based MSM organizations may increase HIV testing uptake. Given the levels of HIV testing and high HIV prevalence among MSM in Cameroon, optimizing the safe and effective provision and uptake of antiretroviral-based prevention and treatment approaches is paramount in changing the trajectory of the HIV epidemic among these men and within their sexual networks. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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