Social cohesion, social participation and HIV testing among men who have sex with men in Swaziland

Social cohesion and social participation are social factors that may help reduce HIV risks and optimize health-seeking behaviors. We examined the association between these factors and HIV testing in the last 12 months among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Swaziland using a cross-sectional survey...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIDS care 2016-06, Vol.28 (6), p.795-804
Main Authors: Grover, Elise, Grosso, Ashley, Ketende, Sosthenes, Kennedy, Caitlin, Fonner, Virginia, Adams, Darrin, Sithole, Bhekie, Mnisi, Zandile, Maziya, Sibusiso Lulu, Baral, Stefan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
AIDS/HIV
Cohesion
Confidence intervals
Correlation analysis
Cronbach's alpha
Cross-Sectional Studies
Exploratory factor analysis
Factor analysis
Gays & lesbians
Health behavior
Health risks
Help seeking behavior
HIV
HIV Infections - diagnosis
HIV Infections - epidemiology
HIV Infections - prevention & control
HIV testing
Homosexuality
Homosexuality, Male - statistics & numerical data
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Logistic Models
Male
Mass Screening
Measurement
Medical tests
Men
Middle Aged
MSM
Preventive Health Services - utilization
Quality of life
Regression analysis
Regression models
Rejection
Risk taking
Sex
Sexual behavior
Sexual orientation
Sexual Partners
Sexually transmitted diseases
Social Capital
Social cohesion
Social factors
Social integration
Social Participation
Statistical analysis
STD
Surveys and Questionnaires
Swaziland
Swaziland - epidemiology
Tests
Uptake
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Summary:Social cohesion and social participation are social factors that may help reduce HIV risks and optimize health-seeking behaviors. We examined the association between these factors and HIV testing in the last 12 months among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Swaziland using a cross-sectional survey conducted with 326 men, 18 years of age or older reporting having sex with another man in the last 12 months. Social capital analyses included measures of social cohesion and social participation. The social cohesion measurement scale was created through exploratory factor analysis using polychoric correlations to determine unidimensionality and Cronbach's Alpha to assess internal consistency. The measurement scale was divided at the 25th and 75th percentiles using "high," "medium" and "low" levels of social cohesion for between-group comparisons. The social participation index included four questions regarding participation, resulting in a participation index ranging from 0 to 4. In the final multivariate logistic regression model, an increase in the level of social participation was found to be significantly associated with HIV testing in the last 12 months, adjusting for age, income, reporting a casual partner, family exclusion and rejection by other MSM due to sexual orientation (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-1.7, p 
ISSN:0954-0121
1360-0451
DOI:10.1080/09540121.2015.1131971