title: Effects of a Quasi-Randomized Web-Based Intervention on Risk Behaviors and Treatment Seeking Among HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex With Men in Chengdu, China.
abstract: The men who have sex with men (MSM) population in China has experienced a recent increase in HIV incidence. Due to the dual stigma and discrimination towards homosexuality and HIV infection, most MSM living with HIV/AIDS are hard to reach by offline intervention initiatives. We recruited HIV-positive MSM participants in Chengdu, China and assessed whether they disclosed their HIV status to partners, motivated a partner to receive testing, used condoms consistently, or initiated antiretroviral therapy. Participants were quasi-randomized to either the intervention or control arm. The intervention group was given instructions for an online program with four modules: an information exchange website, a bulletin board system, individualized online counseling with trained peer educators, and an animation game. All participants were re-assessed at 6 months. The study enrolled 202 HIV-positive MSM. The intervention group had significant increases in disclosing their HIV status to their partners (76.0% vs 61.2%, P=0.0388) and motivating partners to accept HIV testing (42.3% vs 25.5%, P=0.0156) compared with the control group, but there were no between-group differences in receiving early treatment or using condoms consistently. We found that a web-based intervention targeting HIV-positive MSM was an effective tool in increasing the uptake of HIV testing within this high-risk population.
authors.forename: Guodong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mi
authors.affiliation: National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 155 Changbai Road, Changping District, Beijing 102206, P.R. China. wuzy@263.net.
authors.forename: Zunyou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Cynthia X
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Tian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Linglin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: McGoogan
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Keming
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rou
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002681:China; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy / Q000635:transmission; D006266:Health Education; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012309:Risk-Taking; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult