Implementation and assessment of a model to increase HIV testing among men who have sex with men and transgender women in Thailand, 2011-2016

• Published in: AIDS care 2018-10, Vol.30 (10), p.1239-1245
• Main Authors: Wasantioopapokakorn, Montinee, Manopaiboon, Chomnad, Phoorisri, Thanongsri, Sukkul, Akechittra, Lertpiriyasuwat, Cheewanan, Ongwandee, Sumet, Langkafah, Farida, Kritsanavarin, Usanee, Visavakum, Prin, Jetsawang, Bongkoch, Nookhai, Somboon, Kitwattanachai, Prapaporn, Weerawattanayotin, Wanwimon, Losirikul, Mana, Yenyarsun, Naruemon, Jongchotchatchawal, Nuchapong, Martin, Michael
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; CD4 antigen; Clinics; Confidence intervals; Counseling; Day hospitals; Disease prevention; Female; Gays & lesbians; High risk; HIV; HIV incidence; HIV Infections - diagnosis; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - psychology; HIV testing; Homosexuality; Homosexuality, Male - psychology; Hospitals; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Immune response; Incidence; Male; Mapping; Mass Screening; Medical personnel; Medical tests; Men; Men who have sex with men; Mens health; Mobile businesses; Model testing; Models, Psychological; Poisson density functions; Prevention; Prevention programs; Preventive medicine; Regression analysis; Risk assessment; Sex education; Sexually transmitted diseases; Statistical analysis; STD; Target recognition; Tests; Thailand; Thailand - epidemiology; Transgender persons; Transgender Persons - psychology; transgender women; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0954-0121; 1360-0451
• DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2018.1492697

HIV testing among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender (TG) women remains low in Thailand. The HIV prevention program (PREV) to increase HIV testing and link those who tested HIV-positive to care provided trainings to peer educators to conduct target mapping, identify high risk MSM and TG women through outreach education and offer them rapid HIV testing. Trained hospital staff provided HIV testing and counseling with same-day results at hospitals and mobile clinics and referred HIV-positive participants for care and treatment. We used a standardized HIV pre-test counseling form to collect participant characteristics and analyzed HIV test results using Poisson regression and Wilcoxon rank sum trend tests to determine trends over time. We calculated HIV incidence using data from participants who initially tested HIV-negative and tested at least one more time during the program. Confidence intervals for HIV incidence rates were calculated using the Exact Poisson method. From September 2011 through August 2016, 5,629 participants had an HIV test; their median age was 24 years, 1,923 (34%) tested at mobile clinics, 5,609 (99.6%) received their test result, and 1,193 (21%) tested HIV positive. The number of people testing increased from 458 in 2012 to 1,832 in 2016 (p