HIV prevalence and related factors among men who have sex with men in Can Tho City in 2021

Abstract

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at the highest risk of HIV infection in recent years. The objectives of the study were to determine the HIV prevalence and describe related factors among MSM in Can Tho city in 2021. The data was collected from 300 MSMs in the HIV/STI Sentinel Surveillance plus behavioral component. The results showed that the HIV prevalence among MSM group was 15.3%. Three factors were increasing the risk of HIV infection in this population, including being 30 years old and older (ORHC 3.00, 95% CI: 1.17 - 7.65), having chemsex (ORHC 2.16, 95% CI: 1.01 - 4.62) and being syphilis positive (ORHC 5.34, 95% CI: 2.49 - 11.45). In this study, the HIV prevalence among MSM was lower than this in 2020 while being higher than this in other key populations and other provinces. Therefore, Can Tho city continues to maintain the interventional communication activities accompanied by the development of new appropriate programs for MSM such as communicating on social networks/apps,
increasing HIV testing and ARV treatment linkage via public health response activities. Besides, PrEP treatment connection is considered a solution in the prevention of HIV infection, especially for MSM having chemsex.