Amsterdam 2015
Menu
AIDSImpact.com
Conference Details
Authors
International Committee
Plenary Speakers
Presenting Speakers
Programme
Sessions
Scientific Committee
Acknowledgements
| Abstract #2369 - Test & repeat | ||||
|
Session: 45.2: Test & repeat (Parallel) on Friday @ 09.00-10.30 in C103 Chaired by Vincent Pelletier, Sarah Skeen Authors: Presenting Author: Professor William Woods - University of California San Francisco, United States |
||||
| Additional Authors: | ||||
| Aim: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that sexually active men who have sex with men test for HIV every 3 to 6 months. Many of those who never tested or last tested more than 6 months ago among this group may require alternative testing strategies. We distributed free OraQuick In-home HIV Test® kits to men at a gay bathhouse in order to characterize the testing behavior of those who accepted self-test kits. | ||||
| Method / Issue: Men were systematically ed to receive a test-kit coupon at entry or at exit, depending on the recruitment shift. A recruiter estimated the age and race/ethnicity of every ed man, regardless of whether he accepted the coupon. The coupon could be redeemed that night for a single test kit picked up a few feet away. Those who presented the coupon were asked to take an 11-item survey about testing history, HIV status and other demographic characteristics. The kit included information about where to get confirmatory testing and how to email their test kit experience to investigators. | ||||
| Results / Comments: Among the eligible population of 509 men, 181 were systematically ed to receive coupons, of whom 92 (51%) accepted the coupon. The most common reasons for declining the coupon were being HIV-positive, on PrEP, or having recently tested. Among those accepting coupons, 61 (66%) men stopped by to redeem the coupon, with 54 kits distributed overall (or 30% of the randomly ed men). Age reported in the survey was highly correlated with the recruiters’ estimates of age and race/ethnicity (Pearson CC=0.8, p<.01). Those who took the survey were more ethnically diverse (z=2.61, p<.01) than those at the club and receiving the coupon. Age did not differ between those taking kits and those entering the club. More than half had not tested in the past 6 months (50%) or never tested (7%). Of those who had previously tested, testing occurred at medical or testing facilities (53%), at bathhouses (10%), or other non-medical sites (16%). Still, 10% had used self-testing at least once previously. A small proportion of those who took the kit were HIV-positive (10%), most of whom reported being on therapy (80%). Among negative men who took the test kit, 9% reported being on PrEP. Three men (5%) emailed a brief response about their test kit experience, reporting only their negative test result. | ||||
| Discussion: This gay bathhouse proved to be an excellent venue for distributing HIV self-testing kits to a population likely to be at risk for HIV, reaching a disproportionately greater number of ethnic minorities attending the bathhouse. Importantly, men who had never tested or who last tested more than 6 months ago were among those most likely to take the free test kit. Because anonymity was a key component of this exploratory pilot study in a space where anonymity is valued, identifiers were not collected and follow-up information was therefore sparse. Future studies should consider ways of getting additional information about the use of the test kit and linkage to care for those who test positive. | ||||
| Go Back | ||||