Characteristics Of Early Adopters Of Hiv Point Of Care Testing (Poct) At Late-Night Sex On Premises Venue (Sopv) Theme Parties

Characteristics Of Early Adopters Of Hiv Point Of Care Testing (Poct) At Late-Night Sex On Premises Venue (Sopv) Theme Parties

Introduction & Purpose Sexual theme parties have become popular among MSM (men who have sex with men). They are more commonly attended by sexually adventurous MSM, are associated with substance use, and may heighten HIV/STI transmission. HIV point of care testing (PoCT) during late-night SOPV theme parties represents a novel advance. PoCT that is peer-led with Rapid results, can reduce barriers to testing among subsets of MSM. This mixed-methods project aims to: (1) establish proof of concept, (2) evaluate the uptake and feasibility/acceptability of routine HIV/STI testing for MSM during theme parties, and (3) identify beliefs/perceptions regarding this health promotion (testing patterns, preferences) and venue (including substance use, sexual activity and harm reduction); from the perspectives of patrons and peer-testers. Methods Weekly HIV/STI PoCT was provided by trained peer-testers on Friday/ Saturday nights from 9pm-midnight, in a private room at the SOPV. Patrons requesting tests (N=207) were asked to complete an evaluation survey post-testing. Descriptive analyses were performed to identify socio-demographic characteristics of early adopters. Chi-square analyses examined associations between socio-demographic factors and testing patterns and preferences (e.g., whether patrons would have had a test elsewhere if the venue testing had not been available). Follow up phone interviews (n=9) with patrons (n=4) and peer-testers (n=5) provided further qualitative data to explore survey response themes. Results Over half completed the (optional) post-testing survey, with 12 reactive HIV and 5 reactive STI tests; with higher detection rates than other PoCT settings. All those surveyed reported being “comfortable” with the community outreach testing; 96% reported peer-led testing would increase their frequency of testing; 20% ‘would not have had a test’ if the service did not exist (including 2 reactive HIV; 5 STI in this sub-group); and 34% reported to have ‘never had’ an HIV test. Qualitative analyses revealed themes shared by patrons and peer-testers reflected ‘the importance of the testing venue’ and ‘cultural context of the service’. Sub-themes reflected convenience of and barriers to the testing environment, non-judgmental context and professional knowledge of testers, trust and privacy, and a need to break down negative attitudes. Conclusions This project has demonstrated SOPV Rapid PoCT technologies foster high rates of opportunistic HIV/STI testing uptake amongst MSM in a high-risk setting and provides key insights into the perception and experiences of testing within harderto-reach and higher-risk MSM subgroups, resulting in high satisfaction, with demonstrated acceptability, feasibility and proof of concept.

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