Receiving HIV Serostatus Disclosure from Partners Before Sex: Results from an Online Survey of Chinese Men Who Have Sex with Men

• Published in: AIDS and behavior Vol. 22; no. 12; pp. 3826 - 3835
• Main Authors: Tang, Weiming, Liu, Chuncheng, Cao, Bolin, Pan, Stephen W., Zhang, Ye, Ong, Jason, Fu, Hongyun, Ma, Baoli, Fu, Rong, Yang, Bin, Ma, Wei, Wei, Chongyi, Tucker, Joseph D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Adult; Aggression; AIDS; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; Asian cultural groups; Bisexuality; China; Cities; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disclosure; Gays & lesbians; Health Psychology; Health risk assessment; Health risks; HIV; HIV Infections - prevention & control; HIV Infections - psychology; HIV Serosorting; Homosexuality, Male - psychology; Homosexuality, Male - statistics & numerical data; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Infectious Diseases; Internet; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Men who have sex with men; Mens health; Middle Aged; Multivariate analysis; Original Paper; Public Health; Risk reduction; Safe Sex - psychology; Safe Sex - statistics & numerical data; Self Disclosure; Sex; Sexual behavior; Sexual Behavior - psychology; Sexual Partners - psychology; Sexually transmitted diseases; Sociodemographics; STD; Surveys and Questionnaires; Violence; Young Adult; China; Self-testing; Male partner; Disclosure; Violence; Men who have sex with men
• ISSN: 1090-7165; 1573-3254
• DOI: 10.1007/s10461-018-2062-0

HIV serostatus disclosure before sex can facilitate serosorting, condom use and potentially decrease the risk of HIV acquisition. However, few studies have evaluated HIV serostatus disclosure from partners before sex. We examined the rate and correlates of receiving HIV serostatus disclosure from regular and casual male partners before sex among an online sample of men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. An online cross-sectional study was conducted among MSM in eight Chinese cities in July 2016. Participants completed questions covering sociodemographic information, sexual behaviors, HIV testing (including HIV self-testing) history, self-reported HIV status, and post-test violence. In addition, participants were asked whether they received HIV serostatus disclosure from their most recent partners before sex. Overall, 2105 men completed the survey. Among them, 85.9% were never married, and 35.4% had high school or less education. A minority (20.6%, 346/1678; 17.8%, 287/1608) of men received HIV serostatus disclosure from their most recent regular and casual male partners, respectively. Multivariate analysis indicated that participants who ever self-tested for HIV were more likely to have received HIV status disclosure from regular [adjusted OR (aOR) = 1.92, 95% CI 1.50–2.44] and casual (aOR = 2.34, 95% CI 1.80–3.04) male partners compared to never self-tested participants. Compared to participants who had not received HIV status disclosure from regular partners, participants who received disclosure from regular male partners had higher likelihood in experiencing post-test violence (aOR = 5.18, 95% CI 1.53–17.58). Similar results were also found for receiving HIV serostatus disclosure from casual partners. This study showed that HIV serostatus disclosure from partners was uncommon among Chinese MSM. Interventions and further implementation research to facilitate safe disclosure are urgently needed for MSM.