Barcelona 2013
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| Abstract #330 - Testing | ||||
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Session: 4.3: Testing (Parallel) on Monday @ 11.00-13.00 in Teatre Chaired by Lorna Leal, Frans van den Boom Authors: Presenting Author: Mr Nicolas Lorente - INSERM, France |
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| Additional Authors: | ||||
| Aim: In France, men who have sex with men (MSM) represent the only group in which new HIV diagnoses have continued to increase since 2003, accounting for 40% of new infections in 2010. HIV testing is considered a fundamental prevention intervention for controlling the HIV epidemic. In France, the only way to benefit from free and anonymous HIV testing is through voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) centers, and until recently, HIV testing could only be performed by qualified medical staff. One effective alternative to encourage less recently HIV-tested MSM to go for testing is community-based non- medicalized testing offer using HIV rapid tests (hereafter CBOffer). Little is known about the public health benefits of the CBOffer. This study aimed to estimate patient satisfaction of this new offer. | ||||
| Method / Issue: Participants voluntarily came to the VCT centers outside of opening hours, following a communication campaign in gay venues. They completed a self-administered questionnaire before and after their rapid HIV tests. Principal component analyses were performed to construct scores reflecting the following: post-test satisfaction, several safe sex practices as a strategy for risk reduction of HIV infection, and attitudes towards condom use. Internal coherence of items used to construct these scores was verified by using the Cronbach?s alpha index. Bivariate analysis helped identify potential factors explaining testing satisfaction with a p=0.25 threshold as a criterion. For ease of interpretation, the logarithm of the satisfaction score was regressed not only on the constructed scores and other selected explanatory variables, but also on age and education level as fixed confounding factors. | ||||
| Results / Comments: Regression analysis demonstrated that CBOffer satisfaction was sensitive to self-defined sexuality. Gays and bisexuals were, respectively, 12.2% (p=0.10) and 13.7% (p=0.012) more satisfied with the CBOffer than self-defined heterosexual/undefined participants. Those who met sexual partners either in the street or in public places had a lower CBOffer satisfaction score (-6.1%, p=0.014) than individuals who did not meet partners in this way. Satisfaction variability may also be explained by the attitudes of participants who believed themselves to be HIV-positive: those expressing an intention to have unprotected sex with HIV-positive partners(s) had a score 59.3% lower than those who did not express this intention. Favorable attitudes to condom use had a positive impact on CBOoffer satisfaction: the satisfaction score for individuals who declared that using a condom was easy and manageable and who encouraged partners to use a condom when having sex was 24.9% (p<0.001) higher than those relatively unfavorable to condom use. | ||||
| Discussion: Satisfaction with this specific community-based rapid testing offer (CBOffer) was associated with several personal, socio-demographic and socio-behavioral factors. Beliefs about sexual behaviors, vulnerabilities linked to being HIV positive and the fact of being homosexual are all fundamental elements in understanding how to optimize CBOffer satisfaction and better target vulnerable populations who find that the various currently available testing offers are unsatisfactory. | ||||
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