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Awareness of internet-based testing for sexually-transmitted and blood-borne infections among sexual minority men in British Columbia, Canada

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Research theme(s)
Internet Based Testing

Aidan Ablona, Andrés Montiel, Ben Klassen, Kiffer Card, Ihoghosa Iyamu, Hsiu-Ju Chang, Devon Haag,  Ellen Korol, Sophie Bannar-Martin, David Brennan, Daniel Grace, Catherine Worthington, Nathan Lachowsky, Mark Gilbert.

STI & HIV 2021 World Congress (virtual), Jul 14-17, 2021

Background: GetCheckedOnline is an internet-based testing program for HIV, Hepatitis C, and other sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The program launched in 2014 in Vancouver, BC’s largest urban centre, and expanded to six smaller urban and suburban BC communities in 2016. We sought to measure  GetCheckedOnline awareness among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM), and to identify characteristics that may contribute to program awareness.

Methods: Sex Now was a cross-sectional online health survey of Canadian gbMSM aged 15 years recruited from 10/2019–02/2020. BC residents were asked if they knew about GetCheckedOnline and additional questions related to implementation outcomes. We built a multivariable logistic regression model including all variables significant in univariate analysis to quantify associations with awareness, and report adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (AOR [95%CI]).

Results: Among participants living in regions where GetCheckedOnline is available (n=1132, median age: 36 years), 38.1% were aware of GetCheckedOnline. Greater GetCheckedOnline awareness was associated with living outside of Vancouver (AOR=2.15 [1.50–3.10]), identifying as queer (AOR=1.58 [1.13–2.21]), having post-graduate education (AOR=1.84 [1.17–2.91]), being out to healthcare providers (AOR=1.97 [1.22–3.24]), using 3 geolocation-based sex-seeking apps (AOR=2.15 [1.40–3.33]), and past-year involvement in LGBTQ2S+-specific activities (AOR=1.56 [1.10–2.23]). Awareness decreased with increasing years of age (AOR=0.98 [0.97–1.00]). Compared with participants who usually tested for STIs at a sexual health clinic, awareness was lower among participants who usually tested for STIs through their family doctor (AOR=0.50 [0.33–0.73]) or at walk-in medical clinics (AOR=0.54 [0.30–0.96]), and among those who had never tested for STIs previously (AOR=0.17 [0.06–0.39]).

Conclusion: Almost 40% of gbMSM in our sample were aware of GetCheckedOnline. Increasing promotion to gbMSM who are not out to their healthcare provider, who have never tested previously for STIs, or who are less connected to LGBTQ2S+ communities may improve program reach.