Reasons for Not Taking an HIV-Test Among Untested Men Who Have Sex with Men: An Internet Study

Abstract

The present paper focuses on reasons for not taking an HIV-test among untested men who have sex with men (MSM). From an MSM web-based survey, 1627 MSM who had never tested for HIV were selected for the reported analyses. Results show that fear of a positive test result and the perceived consequences thereof, are reported as the most important reasons for not taking an HIV-test among at-risk respondents. The most important reasons for not taking an HIV-test among no-risk respondents are related to perception of low risk for HIV-infection. Implications for future interventions to promote HIV-testing are discussed.

Participation in Online and Offline HIV Prevention Among Men who have Sex with Men who use the Internet to Meet Sex Partners in New York City

“…The rationale for including frequency of Internet use in the model is that usage may be an indicator of the degree of risk-that is, frequent Internet users seeking sex might be at greater risk for sexually transmitted diseases [5]. HIV testing history was included in the model because it may be an indicator of susceptibility to or concern over becoming infected with HIV [6]. Data analyses were conducted using SAS 9.1 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC).…”

“…In their case-control study of men recruited online Hirshfield et al [11] found that a large proportion of the HIV-positive men who reported multiple sex partners also reported unprotected anal sex with partners who were HIV-negative or of an unknown status, potentially transmitting infection to others. Identifying this population creates an opportunity for education about sexual risks, especially among those who might be newly diagnosed [6].…”

Approval and Potential Use of Over-the-Counter HIV Self-Tests: The Opinion of Participants in a Street Based HIV Rapid Testing Program in Spain

“…It has been hypothesized that in the process of deciding and taking the test, psychosocial factors interact with health system variables [8]. Some barriers to testing pointed out in several studies, besides those related to the perception of not having been at risk for infection and the fear of dealing with the disease and the social consequences of a positive result [9,10], could be related to characteristics of the diagnostic services, such as the need and anxiety created by having to return for a second visit to find out the result [8][9][10][11][12], knowing where to go [11], finding a place to get tested [11], the inconvenience of having to visit health services for testing during working hours [12], embarrassment about testing [11], discomfort about talking to health workers about sex life [13], avoidance to go through counselling [13].…”

Rapid HIV test in family practice

“…Several authors have reported that fear of positivity and its potential impact on the quality of life were the 2 main impediments for the patient, to achieve HIV testing [36,37,38,39]. Some physicians and patients agree not to have to announce or to hear about HIV-positivity.…”