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Prevalence and Correlates of Unprotected Anal Intercourse Among Hong Kong Men Who Have Sex with Men Traveling to Shenzhen, China

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Abstract

In China, the HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) has been increasing sharply. A total of 195 Hong Kong MSM having had sex with men in Shenzhen, a mainland China city separated from Hong Kong by a border, were recruited from some randomly selected gay venues in Shenzhen. Participants were face-to-face and anonymously interviewed. The results showed that in the last six months, respectively 62.1, 84.6, and 31.3 % of the participants from Hong Kong had had sex with commercial sex partners (CSP), non-regular partners (NRP) and regular partners (RP) in Shenzhen. The prevalence of unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) with these three types of sex partners was respectively 29.8, 27.9, and 78.7 %. Factors associated with UAI with any MSM in Shenzhen in the last six months included perceived chances of contracting HIV, perceived non-availability of condoms, giving money/gifts to Shenzhen MSM sex partners, and perception that MSM partners in Shenzhen would not always insist on condom use (multivariate OR = 2.9–13.90, p < 0.05), whilst factors of inverse associations included university education, having had sex with NRP but not with CSP and RP in Shenzhen and self-efficacy of insisting on condom use (multivariate OR = 0.04–0.22, p < 0.05). In sum, the prevalence of having multiple types of male sex partners and UAI was high. This was especially true when anal sex with RP was involved. Cross-border HIV prevention is greatly warranted. It should ensure condom availability and modify perceptions toward UAI.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all study participants. Thanks are extended to fieldworkers and volunteers who had helped in the data collection of the project. The study was supported by the Hong Kong Council for the AIDS Trust Fund (SPF#020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Health Behaviours Research, School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 5/F, School of Public Health, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong

    Joseph T. F. Lau, Hi Yi Tsui & Chunqing Lin

  2. Centre for Medical Anthropology and Behavioral Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Joseph T. F. Lau

  3. Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shenzhen, China

    Wende Cai, Jinquan Cheng & Lin Chen

  4. The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong

    Kai C. Choi

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  1. Joseph T. F. Lau
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  2. Wende Cai
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  3. Hi Yi Tsui
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  4. Jinquan Cheng
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  5. Lin Chen
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  6. Kai C. Choi
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  7. Chunqing Lin
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Correspondence to Joseph T. F. Lau.

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Joseph T. F Lau and Wende Cai are co-first authors and contributed equally to this study.

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Lau, J.T.F., Cai, W., Tsui, H.Y. et al. Prevalence and Correlates of Unprotected Anal Intercourse Among Hong Kong Men Who Have Sex with Men Traveling to Shenzhen, China. AIDS Behav 17, 1395–1405 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-012-0244-8

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