Factors Associated with the First-time HIV Testing Among Chinese men who have sex with men Who Received HIV Self-tests from Partners or Friends.

ABSTRACT

Secondary distribution of HIV self-testing (HIVST) among individual social networks was an effective approach to expanding HIV testing among men who have sex with men (MSM). However, understanding the factors associated with first-time HIV testing behaviors in the secondary distribution of HIVST programs is limited. Hence, this study aims to identify factors related to first-time testers in the secondary distribution of HIVST. Participants were recruited from five provinces in southern China through Blued, a geo-social gay networking app in China from January 2021 to December 2021. Eligible consented participants (referred to as "seeds") finished a baseline survey and then applied for up to five HIVST kits. They were encouraged to distribute HIVST kits to other MSM (referred to as "alters") and alters were encouraged to scan a QR code to return their photographed testing results. All alters were invited to finish an online survey. In total, 229 seeds reached 292 alters, among whom 126 (43.2%) were first-time testers whereas 166 (56.8%) were non-first-time testers. Importantly, our results demonstrated that the first-time HIV testers were more likely to self-report as heterosexual (aOR = 4.88, 95% CI 1.01-23.61), disclose sexual orientation and/or SSB (aOR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.01-2.96), and receive HIVST knowledge from the seeds (aOR = 3.25, 95% CI 1.02-10.34). However, those who had sex with male partners in the last three months were less likely to be first-time testers (aOR = 0.43, 95% CI 0.23-0.82). Practical implications and limitations were also discussed to improve future HIV prevention programs.