Written by: Matt Avery, Gang Meng and Stephen Mills
Abstract: The internet is an increasingly popular among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in China for finding sexual partners. Gay men and other MSM who meet online are at high risk for HIV infection, but less likely to visit ‘traditional’ venues where they can receive interpersonal HIV prevention interventions. New virtual models are needed to provide HIV prevention messages and services to these gay men and other MSM. FHI 360 and Guangzhou Tongzhi (GZTZ) piloted separate, but complementary, approaches to using information and communications technology to promote uptake of HIV counselling and testing (HCT) among gay men and other MSM in three Chinese provinces (Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangzhou). These approaches included dedicated websites featuring online risk assessment and appointment making, crowd-sourced service promotion messages and dissemination via participants’ microblog accounts and social media profiles. Reach was measured using Web analytics and traditional monitoring and evaluation tools, and government partners provided data on HCT uptake. The FHI 360 and GZTZ interventions reached 7,000 and 2.3 million unique visitors, respectively, and contributed to increases in HCT uptake of 26% and 66% as well as to higher rates of HIV case finding. Internet-based interventions like those conducted by FHI 360 and GZTZ represent a promising channel for engaging otherwise difficult-to-reach gay men and other MSM in China.
Keywords: HIV, men that have sex with men, MSM, ICT, HIV Counselling and Testing, China