Chu, Isaac Yen-Hao;
Weatherburn, Peter;
Wright, Talen;
Samba, Phil;
Nicholls, Emily Jay;
McCabe, Leanne;
Gafos, Mitzy;
... Witzel, T Charles; + view all
(2024)
Needs & networks: understanding the role and impact of social networks on HIV (self-)testing among GBMSM and trans people in England and Wales.
BMC Public Health
, 24
, Article 1984. 10.1186/s12889-024-18487-w.
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Abstract
Background: Understanding how HIV self-testing (HIVST) can meet the testing needs of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) and trans people whose social networks vary is key to upscaling HIVST implementation. We aim to develop a contextual understanding of social networks and HIV testing needs among GBMSM (cis and transgender) and trans women in SELPHI (An HIV Self-testing Public Health Intervention), the UK’s largest randomised trial on HIVST. Methods: This study re-analysed qualitative interviews conducted from 2015 to 2020. Forty-three in-person interviews were thematically analysed using the Framework Method. Our analytic matrix inductively categorised participants based on the unmet needs for HIV testing and the extent of social network support. The role of social networks on HIVST behaviour was explored based on individuals’ testing trajectories. Results: Four distinct groups were identified based on their unmet testing needs and perceived support from social networks. Optimisation advocates (people with high unmet needs and with high network support, n=17) strived to tackle their remaining barriers to HIV testing through timely support and empowerment from social networks. Privacy seekers (people with high unmet needs and with low network support, n=6) prioritised privacy because of perceived stigma. Opportunistic adopters (people with low unmet needs and with high network support, n=16) appreciated social network support and acknowledged socially privileged lives. Resilient testers (people with low unmet needs and with low network support, n=4) might hold potentially disproportionate confidence in managing HIV risks without sustainable coping strategies for potential seroconversion. Supportive social networks can facilitate users’ uptake of HIVST by: (1) increasing awareness and positive attitudes towards HIVST, (2) facilitating users’ initiation into HIVST with timely support and (3) affording participants an inclusive space to share and discuss testing strategies. Conclusions: Our proposed categorisation may facilitate the development of differentiated person-centred HIVST programmes. HIVST implementers should carefully consider individuals’ unmet testing needs and perceived levels of social support, and design context-specific HIVST strategies that link people lacking supportive social networks to comprehensive HIV care.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Needs & networks: understanding the role and impact of social networks on HIV (self-)testing among GBMSM and trans people in England and Wales |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12889-024-18487-w |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18487-w |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. |
| Keywords: | HIV self-testing, Social network, Needs, MSM, Trans, United Kingdom |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10195127 |
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