"I am not promiscuous enough!": Exploring the low uptake of HIV testing by gay men and other men who have sex with men in Metro Manila, Philippines

The Philippines faces a severe HIV epidemic among gay and other men who have sex with men (MSM). HIV testing uptake remains low. A case series of 12 men from Metro Manila were interviewed to explore barriers to uptake of HIV testing services. Most did not see the need to get tested for HIV despite s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2018-07, Vol.13 (7), p.e0200256-e0200256
Main Authors: de Lind van Wijngaarden, Jan W, Ching, Andrew D, Settle, Edmund, van Griensven, Frits, Cruz, Rolando C, Newman, Peter A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
Adult
Age
AIDS
Antiretroviral agents
Attitude
Biology and Life Sciences
Cities
Confidentiality
Consent
Costs
Counseling
Disease prevention
Emotions
Epidemics
Evaluation
Fear
Fear - psychology
Forecasts and trends
Gays & lesbians
Health aspects
Health behavior
Health care
Health risks
HIV
HIV Infections - diagnosis
HIV tests
Homosexuality, Male
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Interviews
Male
Mass Screening
Medical care utilization
Medical diagnosis
Medical tests
Medical treatment
Medicine and Health Sciences
Men
Mens health
MSM (Men who have sex with men)
People and Places
Philippines
Public health
R&D
Research & development
Risk-Taking
Sex
Sexual and Gender Minorities - psychology
Sexual Behavior - psychology
Sexually transmitted diseases
Side effects
Social aspects
Social Stigma
Socioeconomic Factors
STD
Studies
Supervision
Systematic review
Young Adult
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Description
Summary:The Philippines faces a severe HIV epidemic among gay and other men who have sex with men (MSM). HIV testing uptake remains low. A case series of 12 men from Metro Manila were interviewed to explore barriers to uptake of HIV testing services. Most did not see the need to get tested for HIV despite significant risk, based on the misconception they were feeling well or showed no symptoms. Being of a higher socioeconomic class, feeling morally superior to other gay men, distance of the testing facility, fear of what will happen once infected, fear of HIV- and sexual stigma, fear of side effects of antiretroviral drugs and fear of high health care expenses after testing positive for HIV were key reasons why MSM kept postponing their test. Misconceptions about HIV risk, disease, and treatment and care need to be addressed in order to increase uptake of HIV services in this population.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0200256