142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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304619
Perceptions of oral home HIV self-testing among young Black and Latino men who have sex with men: A qualitative study

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Hyman M. Scott, MD MPH , University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Nicolas M. Sheon, PhD , Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Marguerita Lightfoot, PhD , Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Malcolm John, MD MPH , Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Susan P. Buchbinder, MD , San Francisco Department of Public Health, Bridge HIV, San Francisco, CA
Background:

Home HIV self-testing has potential to increase HIV status awareness among young Black and Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) who have disproportionally higher unrecognized HIV infections than other MSM. The objectives of this study are to explore facilitators and barriers to home HIV self-testing use among this population to inform subsequent intervention development.

Methods:

We conducted 8 focus groups with young Black and Latino MSM, age 18-35 years (n=40). Focus groups were stratified by race/ethnicity, and whether they were a recent tester (<6 months ago vs. > 12 months ago). Discussions explored prior experiences with HIV testing, and the facilitator demonstrated home HIV self-testing to examine interest in self-testing and identify potential concerns.

Results:

HIV self-testing had limited appeal for recent testers who preferred testing in health-care settings. However, the home test did appeal to non-recent testers for whom privacy was a major concern.  Participants expressed concerns about the accuracy of saliva vs. blood based tests, the size of the packaging for one test kit, and a desire for a professional due to the difficulty in correctly interpreting faint lines as indicating a positive test result and anxiety about where to seek care after a positive test result. Non-recent testers expressed a need to have a friend or family member present to provide emotional support during the test process.

Conclusions:

Home HIV-self testing with support has potential appeal among young Black and Latino MSM, particularly those who have not tested recently due to privacy concerns.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe the facilitators and barriers to home HIV self-testing use among young MSM of color.

Keyword(s): Underserved Populations, HIV Interventions

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been a co-investigator on several research analysis focused on identifying HIV related disparities among MSM in the San Francisco Bay Area. Among my scientific interests are developing culturally relevant HIV prevention interventions for young MSM of color and using technology-based interventions to increase HIV and STI testing for these men.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4282.0: HIV Prevention Among Specific Populations 1