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Published on: November 30, 2015
Factors Associated with Returning At-Home Specimen Collection Kits for HIV Testing among Internet-Using Men Who Have
Alexandra V Ricca1, Eric W Hall2, Christine M Khosropour1,3
1Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Background:
In the United States, men who have sex with men (MSM) are known to disproportionately have HIV. The authors sought to describe the acceptability of providing at-home dried blood spot specimen collection kits for HIV testing among MSM.
Methods:
Between August 2010 and December 2010, the authors recruited Internet-using, HIV-negative or -unknown MSM to participate in a 12-month study of behavioral risks. Eligible participants were mailed an at-home HIV test.
Results:
Of the 896 men who were sent a test kit, 735 (82%) returned the kit. Returning a test kit was significantly associated with race (P = .002), highest level of education (P = .012), and annual income (P = .026). The adjusted odds of black, non-Hispanic men returning a test kit were about half of the odds of white, non-Hispanic men returning a test kit (adjusted odds ratios: 0.49; 95% confidence intervals: 0.31-0.78).
Conclusions:
Men who have sex with men are willing to provide biological specimens as part of an Internet-based HIV prevention study.
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