Usability of dual HIV/syphilis self-testing among men who have sex with men in China: study protocol for a three-arm randomised controlled trial

Abstract

IntroductionHIV self-testing (HIVST) provides a key measure for the early detection of HIV infection in men who have sex with men (MSM). However, dual HIV/syphilis self-testing in the MSM population has not been studied. We describe a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effect of dual HIV/syphilis self-testing on the testing frequency among MSM in China.Methods and analysisThis randomised controlled trial will be implemented in Guangxi, China. 330 MSM, including 255 frequent testers and 75 less frequent testers, will be recruited and randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio into one of three arms: a site-based testing arm, a single HIVST arm and a dual HIV/syphilis self-testing arm. Participants in the single HIVST arm and dual HIV/syphilis self-testing arm will receive two free finger-prick-based HIVST or HIV/syphilis self-testing kits at enrolment. The data will be collected at five separate times: baseline, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months. The primary outcome is the mean frequency of HIV testing used by MSM after intervention comparing each group during the study period. The secondary outcome includes changes in sex behaviours (eg, number of male sex partners and the proportion of consistent condom use) and the mean number of HIV tests used by the social network members over the study period.Ethics and disseminationThe study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Guangxi Medical University, China (20210173). The study results will be disseminated through conferences and academic journals.Trial registration numberChiCTR2100050898.

Willingness to take long-acting injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis among men who have sex with men who participated in the CROPrEP study: a cross-sectional online study

“…When medication adherence decreases to 51%, the efficacy of oral PrEP decreases to 44% [ 9 ]. A recent meta-analysis showed that a one-ten percent decrease in oral PrEP adherence decreases its efficacy by 13% [ 10 ]. The key barriers to oral PrEP adherence are related to three ecological levels: the individual (e.g., low awareness of PrEP or HIV susceptibility and forgetfulness), interpersonal (e.g., nonsupport from family and peers and stigma), and structural (e.g., lack of health insurance coverage and low-quality oral PrEP services) levels [ 11 – 13 ].…”