title: Incentives and barriers to HIV testing in men who have sex with men in a metropolitan area in Brazil.
abstract: This study aimed to identify incentives and barriers to HIV testing in men who have sex with men (MSM). This was a cross-sectional study of MSM who had lived at least three months in greater metropolitan Fortaleza, Ceará State, Brazil, 2010. The study recruited 391 men ≥ 18 years of age who reported sexual relations with men in the previous six months, using Respondent Driven Sampling. Personal network and socio-demographic data were collected and HIV testing was offered, analyzed with RDSAT 6.0 and Stata 11.0. The majority were young (40.3%), had 5 to 11 years of schooling (57.3%), were single (85.1%), had low income (37.6%), and 58.1% had tested for HIV some time in life. Incentive to test: certainty of not being infected (34.1%) and the exposure to national campaign Fique Sabendo [Know your Status] (34%). Barriers: trust in partner(s) (21%) and fear of discrimination if tested positive (20.3%). Policies should be developed to ensure test confidentiality and communication campaigns focusing on information gaps and encouragement for testing.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brasil., Universidade Federal do Ceará, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza , Brazil.|Universidade de Fortaleza, Fortaleza, Brasil., Universidade de Fortaleza, Universidade de Fortaleza, Fortaleza , Brazil.
authors.forename: Valéria Freire
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brasil., Universidade Federal do Ceará, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza , Brazil.
authors.forename: Ligia Regina Franco Sansigolo
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brasil., Universidade Federal do Ceará, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza , Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosa Salani
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Mota
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brasil., Universidade Federal do Ceará, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza , Brazil.
authors.forename: Raimunda Hermelinda Maia
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Macena
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brasil., Universidade Federal do Ceará, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza , Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosa Lívia de
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brasil., Universidade Federal do Ceará, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza , Brazil.
authors.forename: Deborah Gurgel
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Freire
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Brasil., Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife , Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Maria de
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Brito
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brasil., Universidade Federal da Bahia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador , Brazil.
authors.forename: Inês
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dourado
authors.affiliation: UMR 912 (IRD/INSERM/Marseille Université), Marseille, France., UMR 912 (IRD/INSERM/Marseille Université), Marseille , France.
authors.forename: Laëtitia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Atlani-Duault
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France., Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris , France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, U.S.A., Tulane University, Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans , USA.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kendall
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012747:Sexual Partners; D061108:Social Media; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult