Resum
BACKGROUND: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a high risk population to get sexually transmitted infections (STI). New prevention strategies for reaching hidden populations are needed. The aim of this study was to determine the response rate, acceptability and effectiveness of a program who offers rapid STI testing through dating Apps. METHODS: We offered rapid STI testing (HIV, syphilis and hepatitis C) by sending private messages on gay Apps from December 2015 until September 2019. Main outcomes were: response rate between contacted users; acceptance as proportion of favorable responses between responders; and effectiveness as the proportion of users who attended our centers between contacted users. Sociodemographics, sexual behaviors and App usage variables were collected from the users who attended our centers. A descriptive analysis was carried out. To identify associated variables to the messages's response, multivariate logistic regression was used. Adjusted Odds ratio (ORa) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. RESULTS: 5,221 individual messages were sent. The response rate reached 32.9% (N=1,720), acceptance was 86.2% (N=1,483) and effectiveness 8.3% (N=458). Additionally, 3.2% (N=169) received online counselling about sexual health. Factors significantly associated with the response of the message in multivariate analysis were: displaying a picture in the App without bare chest or abdomen (OR: 1.42; CI:1.16-1.74), connection schedule at the moment of the message or during last hour (OR:1.62; CI:1.21-2.15) and sent message after 5 pm (OR:1.21; CI:1.01-1.45). Among tested users 37.5% (n=446) had not taken a HIV test for over a year, 21.7% (n=97) had any STI diagnosis during previous year, 43.4%(n=194) had reported anal sex without condom with non-steady partners, and 41.8% (n=187) had consumed drugs for having sex. Positive testing for HIV was 1.8% (n=1), syphilis 2.7% (n=9) and hepatitis C 0.3% (n=1).
CONCLUSIONS: The response rate, acceptance and effectiveness observed in this program indicates that this strategy was a useful tool for promoting STI testing among the MSM population. This program was capable of reaching Apps users with high prevalence of STI, who engage in risky sexual behaviours, consume drugs during sex, and do not routinely take the HIV test.