Changes in STI and HIV testing and testing need among men who have sex with men during the UK’s COVID-19 pandemic response
| Autor: | Jack RG Brown, David Reid, Alison R Howarth, Hamish Mohammed, John Saunders, Caisey V Pulford, Gwenda Hughes, Catherine H Mercer |
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| Rok vydání: | 2022 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Sexually Transmitted Infections. :sextrans-2022 |
| ISSN: | 1472-3263 1368-4973 |
| DOI: | 10.1136/sextrans-2022-055429 |
| Popis: | ObjectivesWe examined the impact of COVID-19-related restrictions on sexual behaviours, STI and HIV testing and testing need among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the UK.MethodsWe used social media and dating applications to recruit to three cross-sectional surveys (S1–S3) during the UK’s pandemic response (S1: 23 June–14 July 2020; S2: 23 November–12 December 2020; S3: 23 March–14 April 2021). Surveys included lookback periods of around 3–4 months (P1–P3, respectively). Eligible participants were UK resident men (cisgender/transgender) and gender-diverse people assigned male at birth (low numbers of trans and gender-diverse participants meant restricting these analyses to cisgender men), aged ≥16 years who reported sex with men (cisgender/transgender) in the last year (S1: N=1950; S2: N=1463; S3: N=1487). Outcomes were: recent STI/HIV testing and unmet testing need (new male and/or multiple condomless anal sex partners without a recent STI/HIV test). Crude and adjusted associations with each outcome were assessed using logistic regression.ResultsParticipants’ sociodemographic characteristics were similar across surveys. The proportion reporting a recent STI and/or HIV test increased between P1 and P2 (25.0% to 37.2% (pConclusionConsiderable unmet STI/HIV testing need occurred among MSM during COVID-19-related restrictions, especially in bisexually-identifying men and those reporting low life satisfaction. Improving access to STI/HIV testing in MSM is essential to prevent inequalities being exacerbated. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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