Association between knowledge, risk behaviours, and testing for sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men: Findings from a large online survey in the United Kingdom
HIV Medicine May 30, 2019
Wayal S, et al. - Using gay-orientated online dating platforms, researchers surveyed sexually active (in the last year) men aged > 15 years about sexually transmitted infection (STI) knowledge, STI risk behaviors, and STI testing (March-May 2017) in order to assess if their STI testing behavior met national guidelines. In addition, they investigated the correlation between STI testing in the last 3 months, STI knowledge and STI risk behaviors by HIV status. Observations revealed that men who have sex with men have high and growing prevalences of gonorrhea and syphilis, and shigella outbreaks in England, however, their knowledge regarding these infections was poor; this was particularly observed among HIV-negative/unknown-status men. HIV-positive men vs HIV-negative/untested men showed higher engagement in STI risk behaviors despite good knowledge of STIs. However, HIV-negative/unknown-status men engagement in STI risk behaviors differed based on their STI knowledge; men with good STI knowledge reported more sexual partners and recreational drug use prior to sex, and those with poor knowledge were more likely to report engaging in condomless anal sex. These data indicate that behaviors are influenced by a complex range of psychological and ecosocial factors beyond simply knowledge.
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