Factors associated with recent HIV testing among younger gay and bisexual men in New Zealand, 2006-2011

Nathan J Lachowsky,Cate E Dewey,Anthony J Hughes,Alastair Js Summerlee,Peter Jw Saxton,Nigel P Dickson

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-294

Nathan J Lachowsky, Cate E Dewey + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-294

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Abstract

BackgroundUnderstanding HIV testing behaviour is vital to developing evidence-based policy and programming that supports optimal HIV care, support, and prevention. This has not been investigated among younger gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (YMSM, aged 16-29) in New Zealand.MethodsNational HIV sociobehavioural surveillance data from 2006, 2008, and 2011 was pooled to determine the prevalence of recent HIV testing (in the last 12 months) among YMSM. Factors associated with recent testing were determined using manual backward stepwise multivariate logistic regression.ResultsOf 3,352 eligible YMSM, 1,338 (39.9%) reported a recent HIV test. In the final adjusted model, the odds of having a recent HIV test were higher for YMSM who were older, spent more time with other gay men, reported multiple sex partners, had a regular partner for 6-12 months, reported high condom use with casual partners, and disagreed that HIV is a less serious threat nowadays and that an HIV-positive man would disclose before sex. The odds of having a recent HIV test were lower for YMSM who were bisexual, recruited online, reported Pacific Islander or Asian ethnicities, reported no regular partner or one for >3 years, were insertive-only during anal intercourse with a regular partner, and who had less HIV-related knowledge.ConclusionA priority for HIV management should be connecting YMSM at risk of infection, but unlikely to test with appropriate testing services. New generations of YMSM require targeted, culturally relevant health promotion that provides accurate understandings about HIV transmission and prevention.

Highlights

Understanding HIV testing behaviour is vital to developing evidence-based policy and programming that supports optimal HIV care, support, and prevention
3352 were men aged between 16 and 29 years who were included in the analysis (1341 responses from 2006, 881 responses from 2008, and 1130 responses from 2011), having removed 354 men who had answered a survey in a previous round, 31 who did not complete the question on HIV testing, and 4 who had tested HIVpositive more than one year prior to the survey
The focus on recent HIV testing in this paper provides more temporally relevant evidence to inform and help evaluate health promotion and public health policy, and should be used to contextualize passive HIV surveillance data

Summary

Introduction

Understanding HIV testing behaviour is vital to developing evidence-based policy and programming that supports optimal HIV care, support, and prevention. This has not been investigated among younger gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (YMSM, aged 16-29) in New Zealand. Access to and timely uptake of HIV testing is a necessary precursor to receiving the most effective care and treatment for people infected with HIV [1]. Global increases in HIV prevalence among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM) [5,6,7,8], a reflection of both improved survival and ongoing incidence, present major challenges to effective prevention strategies [9,10]. A recent community survey in Auckland (New Zealand’s largest city) found that 21% of HIV-

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