Exploring community enabling factors associated with recent HIV testing in a regional sample of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men

ABSTRACT

HIV testing and diagnosis are the gateway into treatment and eventual viral suppression. With gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) persistently over-representing new HIV diagnoses in Canada, combined with the evolving nature of community social connection, an exploration of factors associated with recent HIV testing is warranted. As most studies of GBMSM rely on samples obtained from larger metropolitan regions, examining HIV testing from an under-researched region is necessary. With data collected from an online survey of LGBTQ+ persons 16 or older living, working, or residing in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, we used multinomial logistic regression to explore socio-demographic, behavioural, and psychosocial factors associated with recent HIV testing for GBMSM. In the final multivariate multinomial logistic regression model: sense of belonging was associated with more recently testing, as was having an increasing proportion of LGBT friends, app use to find sex partners in the past 12 months, access to the local AIDS service organization, and general sense of belonging to local community, among other. This analysis highlights the continued importance of enabling and need factors when accessing testing, and suggests areas for further testing promotion in physical and virtual spaces frequented by GBMSM.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV testing
• gay
• bisexual
• men who have sex with men
• community

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge everyone involved in creating and carrying out the OutLook Study, as well as all the participants who took the time to complete the OutLook Survey. Research support for this study was provided by the Ontario HIV Treatment Network.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Research support for this study was provided by the Ontario HIV Treatment Network.