Metrics details. Respondent-driven sampling RDS was used to recruit MSM in 12 Brazilian cities in to this biological and behavioral surveillance study. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. For this analysis, MSM were included. Peer Review reports. Routine testing to detect HIV infection is an important measure for a combined HIV prevention strategy [ 1 ] since it encompasses three levels of intervention.
First, a biomedical level, since technology is used to detect the virus and initiate antiretroviral therapy ART , interrupting transmission [ 2 ].
Second, a behavioral and cultural level, embedding individual and group decisions to test in a psycho-social matrix of sex, risk and prevention [ 3 ]. Finally, successful testing depends not only on the availability of the test, but also on overcoming barriers such as stigma and discrimination when accessing testing services [ 4 , 5 ].
In Latin America, there are 1. In a comparison between the and surveys, there was a drop in the proportion of MSM who had never tested, from In Curitiba, a city in a high-income region South , in another survey among MSM in , the proportion never tested was much smaller: In Brazil, free access to HIV test occurs mainly in specialized services e. However, the primary beneficiaries of this program are pregnant women [ 17 ], and coverage among sexual minorities remains low [ 18 , 19 ].
HIVST is simple, easy to use, allows the individual to conduct the test alone, can use oral fluid or a blood sample, and results can be interpreted without professional help [ 23 ]. HIVST guarantees confidentiality and privacy [ 24 , 25 ]. Furthermore, it may facilitate an increase in testing frequency among individuals at high risk of HIV infection and in populations groups with less frequency of testing in traditional services [ 24 ].
