Knowledge and risk behaviors related to HIV/AIDS, and their association with information resource among men who have sex with men in Heilongjiang province, China

Abstract

BackgroudIn Heilongjiang province, the HIV prevalence in men who have sex with men (MSM) is generally lower than other part of China. However, the official perception for their risk of HIV/AIDS infection has been increasing in the province over the years. Moreover, little information on HIV/AIDS was provided to the communities so that we have disadvantage of controlling HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of HIV among MSM in Heilongjiang province, to assess their knowledge levels and risk behaviors related to HIV/AIDS, and to explore their associations with information resources.MethodsA cross-sectional study using a standardized questionnaire and blood test was administered in 2008 by local interviewers to a sample (1353) of MSM in four cities in Heilongjiang province.ResultsAmong 1353 MSM, 2.3% were identified with HIV infection. About 48.7% of the subjects had multiple male sexual partners and only 37.3% of the subjects had consistent condom use (use every time) in the past 6 months. Most had a fair level of knowledge on HIV/AIDS, with the highest mean knowledge score among the MSM from Jiamusi, those with income 2000-3000 RMB/month, those searching sexual partners via internet and those performed HIV testing over 1 year ago). However, some myths regarding viral transmission (e.g., via mosquito bites or sharing kitchen utensils) also existed. Resources of information from which knowledge and risk behaviors related to HIV/AIDS was most available were television (58.6%) among MSM, followed by sexual partner (51.6%), publicity material (51.0%) and internet (48.7%). Significantly statistical differences of mean knowledge score were revealed in favor of book (P = 0.0002), medical staff (P = 0.0007), publicity material (P = 0.005) and sexual partner (P = 0.02). Press (P = 0.04) and book (P = 0.0003) were contributory to the most frequent condom use (condom use every time), while medical staff (P = 0.005) and publicity material (P = 0.04) is associated with moderate rate of condom use (condom use often).ConclusionsAlthough the prevalence of HIV infection is low among MSM in Heilongjiang province, the situation that the risk behaviors were frequent in the population is alarming. The study suggests that some strategies like condom use and education intervention are practical approaches and need to be strengthened.

Social Network and Other Correlates of HIV Testing: Findings from Male Sex Workers and Other MSM in Shanghai, China

“…Other regional and sentinel surveys reveal high HIV prevalence rates among MSM in many large metropolitan areas: 5.2% in Beijing in 2006 [11], 7-8% in Chongqing [12,13], and 10.6% in Chengdu [14], while rising HIV prevalence rates among MSM were also reported in Nanjing [15], Shenyang [16], Shenzhen [17,18], Jinan [19], and Jiangsu Province [20]. The increased number of reported cases among MSM may result from a combination of factors, including a higher disclosure rate that can be attributed to increasing cultural acceptance of homosexuality and the expanding size of sexual networks [4,21] and increased presence of risk behaviors [2,16,[22][23][24][25][26] with persistently high rates of unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) among MSM [10,14,27] in China. It is undeniable that China, like other Asian countries, is facing an expanding HIV epidemic among its 10 to 20 million MSM [6].…”

Fatores associados ao baixo conhecimento sobre HIV/AIDS entre homens que fazem sexo com homens no Brasil

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A Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Relative Efficacy of Enhanced Versus Standard Voluntary Counseling and Testing on Promoting Condom Use among Men Who Have Sex with Men in China

“…VCT is one of the key HIV measures targeting MSM in China [20]. Previous studies recorded low VCT coverage rates among MSM in China ranging from 14.3 to 41.0% [3,47,48]. Together with the very high prevalence and incidence of HIV and syphilis, the risk reduction effect of replacing SVCT by EVCT nation-wide may potentially contribute to the prevention of the HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) among MSM in China.…”