Explaining the Presence of "Heterosexual" Female Clients of a Rapid HIV Testing Site Located in the Gay Village of Montreal, Quebec
BACKGROUND:
Increasing
access and uptake of HIV testing among at-risk women is needed. Examining
women's motives for visiting a community-based rapid HIV testing site (Actuel
sur Rue-AsR) oriented to men who have sex with men (MSM) could offer
suggestions.
OBJECTIVE:
To
compare the "heterosexual" female and male clients of AsR, located in
Montreal's (Canada) gay village, to better understand the women's particular
HIV prevention and sexual health service needs.
METHODS:
This
cross-sectional pilot study analyzed questionnaire data provided by AsR clients
and staff (nurse and community agent teams) between July 2012 and November
2013. Women and men reporting only opposite-sex partners were compared with
chi-square, Fisher's exact, and Kruskal-Wallis tests, as appropriate, on
sociodemographics, HIV-related behaviors, motives for visiting AsR, and health
service provision.
RESULTS:
AsR
received 1901 clients. Among these, 55 women and 147 men reported only
opposite-sex partners. Women were significantly younger. Significantly greater
proportions of women visited AsR because no appointment was necessary (67% vs
48%), sought testing for condom failure (18% vs 5%), and had no regular doctor
(44% vs 27%). Both groups mainly chose AsR for the rapid test results (80% and
77%), visited it to receive the rapid HIV test (71% and 76%), and sought
testing due to unprotected vaginal sex (44% and 43%). Similar proportions saw
the nurse (91% and 89%), received the rapid HIV test (44% and 35%), and were
linked to a medical clinic (49% and 52%), especially, to receive complete
sexually transmitted infection testing (50% and 44%).
CONCLUSIONS:
The
results of this innovative study highlight the draw of rapid HIV testing for
"heterosexual" users of a site mainly targeting MSM. They also
suggest that further research is warranted into the importance for this group
of women clients of drop-in and linkage services, particularly given their
possible lesser access to regular care.
- 1Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (http://rimuhc.ca/), Montreal, Quebec, Canada kimcengler@gmail.com.
- 2Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- 3Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- 4l'Actuel Medical Clinic, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- J Prim Care Community Health. 2016 Jan 20. pii: 2150131915626563
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