Association of internalised homonegativity with partner notification after diagnosis of syphilis or gonorrhoea among men having sex with men in 49 countries across four continents

BMC Public Health

Research

Carlos F. Caceres¹  Susanne B. Schink²  Ulrich Marcus²  Axel J. Schmidt³  Rigmor Berg⁴  Maria Amelia Veras⁵  Kai Jonas⁶  Jordi Casabona⁷ 

[1] Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexuality, AIDS and Society, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru;Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany;Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Sigma Research, London, UK;Division for the Health Services, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway;Department of Community Medicine, University of Tromso, Tromso, Norway;Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo, Rua Dr Cesario Mota Jr 61, 01221-020, São Paulo, SP, Brazil;Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;Health Department, Centre of Epidemiological Studies of HIV/AIDS and STI of Catalonia (CEEISCAT), Generalitat de Catalunya, Badalona, Spain;Germans Trias I Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Campus Can Ruti, Badalona, Spain;CIBER Epidemiologia Y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain;Department of Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Preventive Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain;

关键词: Contact tracing;    Syphilis;    Gonorrhoea;    Sexual and gender minorities;    Internalised homonegativity;    Regression analysis;    Europe;    Latin America;    Canada;    Philippines;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-022-14891-2

 received in 2022-08-19, accepted in 2022-12-19,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPartner notification (PN) after a sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnosis is being promoted as a means to interrupt transmission chains. We investigated whether Internalised Homonegativity (IH) is associated with PN among men having sex with men (MSM).MethodsPN, defined as notifying at least one partner after diagnosis of syphilis and gonorrhoea, was queried in two internet-based self-completion surveys conducted between Oct 2017 and May 2018 in 68 countries in Europe, Latin America, Canada, and the Philippines. IH is defined by a man’s level of agreement or disagreement with negative social beliefs about male homosexuality. Covariates included in a multivariate regression model with a random intercept at country level were age, HIV diagnosis, partnership status, sexual self-efficacy, HIV serostatus communication during last sex with a non-steady partner, place where this partner was met, and PN-related socio-historical background of the country of residence. We grouped countries in three areas: North- and Central-Western European countries plus Canada, former socialist countries, and Latin-American/Mediterranean countries plus the Philippines. In each of the three areas individuals were assigned to 4 subgroups based on IH quartiles and PN rates were determined for each subgroup.ResultsPN rates were calculated for 49 countries (excluding countries with less than 10 diagnoses). Mean proportions of MSM notifying their partners were 68.1% and 72.9% after syphilis and gonorrhoea diagnoses, respectively. PN rates were lower in Latin American countries and the Philippines compared to European countries. Within Europe, a North–South divide with lower PN rates in Mediterranean countries was observed. In each of the three regions we mostly observed a stepwise increase of PN rates with decreasing IH.Regression analysis showed lower IH scores associated with higher PN rates. Higher perceived self-efficacy, living in a partnership, and HIV status communication were positively associated with PN. Men who had met their last partner in a gay social venue were more likely to have notified their partners of a syphilis diagnosis compared to men who had met this partner online. Men with diagnosed HIV were less likely to report PN.ConclusionsWe could demonstrate that IH was associated with PN among MSM across all countries included in our analysis. Reducing cultural homophobia and ensuring inclusive policies may contribute to STI prevention and control.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

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