Epidemiology, HIV and STD Unit, School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
PLoS One. 2011;6(11):e27334. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027334. Epub 2011 Nov 9.
Men who have sex with men (MSM) account for the greatest burden of the HIV epidemic in Peru. Given that MSM are frequent users of the Internet, understanding the risk behaviors and the reasons for not getting tested among MSM who surf the Internet may improve the tailoring of future online behavioral interventions.
From October 2007 to April 2008, we conducted an online survey among users of seven Peruvian gay websites.
We received 1,481 surveys, 1,301 of which were included in the analysis. The median age of the participants was 22.5 years (range 12-71), 67% were homosexual, and the remainder was bisexual. Of survey respondents, 49.4% had never been tested for HIV and only 11.3% were contacted in-person during the last year by peer health educators from the Peruvian Ministry of Health and NGOs. Additionally, 50.8% had unprotected anal or vaginal sex at last intercourse, and a significant percentage reported a condom broken (22.1%), slipped (16.4%) or sexual intercourse initiated without wearing a condom (39.1%). The most common reasons for not getting tested for HIV among high-risk MSM were "I fear the consequences of a positive test result" (n = 55, 34.4%), and "I don't know where I can get tested" (n = 50, 31.3%).
A small percentage of Peruvian MSM who answered our online survey, were reached by traditional peer-based education programs. Given that among high-risk MSM, fear of a positive test result and lack of awareness of places where to get tested are the most important reasons for not taking an HIV test, Internet interventions aimed at motivating HIV testing should work to reduce fear of testing and increase awareness of places that offer free HIV testing services to MSM.
男男性行为者（MSM）在秘鲁的艾滋病病毒流行中负担最大。鉴于 MSM 是互联网的频繁使用者，了解互联网冲浪的 MSM 的风险行为和未接受检测的原因，可能有助于为未来的在线行为干预措施提供依据。
我们于 2007 年 10 月至 2008 年 4 月期间在 7 个秘鲁同性恋网站的用户中开展了一项在线调查。
我们共收到 1481 份调查，其中 1301 份被纳入分析。参与者的中位数年龄为 22.5 岁（范围 12-71 岁），67%为同性恋者，其余为双性恋者。在调查对象中，49.4%从未接受过艾滋病病毒检测，只有 11.3%在过去一年中曾被秘鲁卫生部和非政府组织的同伴健康教育者亲自联系过。此外，50.8%在最近一次性交中未使用安全套进行肛交或阴道交，有相当比例的人报告避孕套破裂（22.1%）、滑脱（16.4%）或无套性交（39.1%）。高风险 MSM 中未进行 HIV 检测的最常见原因是“我担心阳性检测结果的后果”（n=55，34.4%）和“我不知道在哪里可以进行检测”（n=50，31.3%）。
我们的在线调查仅覆盖了一小部分秘鲁 MSM，而传统的同伴教育计划仅覆盖了其中的一小部分。鉴于在高风险 MSM 中，对阳性检测结果的恐惧和对检测地点的不了解是不接受 HIV 检测的最重要原因，因此针对 MSM 的以互联网为基础的干预措施应致力于减少对检测的恐惧并提高对提供免费 HIV 检测服务的地点的认识。
