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Risk and Protective Profile of Men Who Have Sex With Men Using Mobile Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing: Latent
Piao-Yi Chiou1,2,3, Wei-Wen Tsao1, Kuan-Chia Lin4,5
1School of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei City, Taiwan.
JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
|February 16, 2023
Summary
Latent class analysis identified three distinct risk groups among men who have sex with men (MSM) receiving mobile HIV testing. The highest risk group showed increased HIV positivity and risk behaviors, informing targeted prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Mobile voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV aims to improve case detection among men who have sex with men (MSM).
- Declining HIV-positive detection rates suggest evolving risk and protective factors within this population.
- Previous studies have not explored these changing patterns in MSM.
Purpose of the Study:
- To classify MSM undergoing mobile VCT into nuanced subgroups using latent class analysis (LCA).
- To compare characteristics and HIV testing outcomes across identified subgroups.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study with purposive sampling (May-December 2019).
- Recruitment via social networking and geosocial apps.
- LCA utilized risk indicators (multiple partners, unprotected intercourse, drug use, STDs) and protective factors (PEP, PrEP, regular testing).
Main Results:
- A three-class model best fit the data: highest risk (17.19%), highest protection (11.89%), and low risk/low protection (70.92%).
- The highest risk group (Class 1) had higher odds of multiple partners, unprotected intercourse, being ≥40 years old, and HIV-positive results.
- The highest protection group (Class 2) showed increased use of biomedical prevention and marital experience.
Conclusions:
- LCA effectively classified MSM into risk and protection subgroups for mobile VCT.
- Findings can inform simplified prescreening and targeted identification of high-risk individuals (e.g., older MSM with multiple partners/unprotected intercourse).
- Tailored HIV prevention and testing programs can be developed based on these subgroup classifications.
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