Acceptability of Using HIV Self-Testing among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess acceptability of self-testing of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) and factors associated with the acceptability in Bangkok, Thailand. The participants were 18 years old and older men who had sex with men at the study location and had lived in Bangkok for at least one month. A total of 180 subjects were recruited. The data was collected by using questionnaires; and were analyzed by descriptive statistics (percentage, mean, standard deviation, median, and interquartile range) and inferential statistics using simple linear regression analysis. The results showed that majority of participants (82.8%) accepted HIV self-testing at high level; 91.7% had good attitude toward HIV prevention and HIV testing; and 40.0% of them had low level of knowledge related HIV prevention. Using simple linear regression, it showed that age, monthly income, knowledge related HIV prevention and the attitude were significantly associated with the acceptability of self-testing of HIV (p<0.05). In conclu-sion, HIV self-testing was highly acceptable and might be feasible to promote the approach for MSM. Policy makers should adopt the policy on self-testing of HIV as a measure to increase access to HIV testing in Thailand, which will increase the number of people living with HIV who know their HIV status and receive early ARV treatment.

Key words: acceptability, HIV, AIDS, self-testing, men who have sex with men