Prevalence and associated factors of HIV serostatus disclosure to regular female sex partners among HIV-positive men who have sex with both men and women in China

ABSTRACT

HIV-positive men who have sex with men and women (MSMW) may transmit HIV to regular female sexual partners (FSPs, including girlfriend and wife) through unprotected sex. FSPs’ awareness of the HIV serostatus of the MSMW promotes them to access services. However, the prevalence of HIV disclosure among MSMW was low, and factors associated with this disclosure are largely unknown. This study aimed to examine factors associated with HIV disclosure to regular FSPs among HIV-positive MSMW. We recruited 432 HIV-positive MSMW from three provinces of China and collected information on participants’ individual characteristics and interpersonal relationships with their FSPs using individualized structured questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used for data analysis. The prevalence of HIV disclosure to their most recent FSPs was 49.8%. Facilitators of HIV disclosure included the presence of HIV/AIDS symptoms, perceiving this partner’s HIV status as positive, exposure to counseling favoring disclosure, inconsistent condom use, and this partner’s acknowledgment of MSM identity. Barriers against HIV disclosure included unknown HIV serostatus of this partner and an instrumental relationship to hide MSM identity. HIV disclosure to regular FSPs was low. Programs should target priority subgroups. Services in counseling favoring disclosure and partner HIV testing should be enhanced.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV serostatus disclosure
• regular female sexual partner/spouses
• MSM orientation/identity
• partner HIV testing
• men who have sex with men and women

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Joseph Lau http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2344-7107

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Number 81373054.