Abstract
Although men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV and other sexually transmissible infections, sexual health services for MSM in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) remain under-resourced and are poorly understood. A scoping review of literature on MSM sexual health in LMIC was conducted in order to identify key clinical services and gaps in knowledge. Three databases were searched, in addition to hand-reviewing key journals and bulletins, to identify literature with a focus on MSM sexual health. Key services related to providing care to MSM in LMIC that emerged from our review are described. These services include creation of safe and confidential clinic environments, HIV testing services, behavioural interventions, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), rapid antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and STI services. Compared with high-income settings, major differences in LMIC include lack of diagnostic technology, unfavourable legal environments and lack of funding for MSM health. Innovative approaches to healthcare delivery, such as harnessing mobile technology, self-testing and crowdsourcing interventions, can improve health services among MSM in LMIC. There are gaps in the evidence about how best to provide sexual health services for MSM in LMIC settings. Implementation research and scale-up of existing biomedical and behavioural interventions, such as HIV/STI testing services, PrEP and early antiretroviral initiation are urgently needed in LMIC.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Sexual Health |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2019 |
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Keywords
- guidelines
- HIV care continuum
- HIV testing
- sexually transmissible infections
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Infectious Diseases
Cite this
Providing competent, comprehensive and inclusive sexual health services for men who have sex with men in low- and middle-income countries : A scoping review. / Bien-Gund, Cedric H.; Zhao, Peipei; Cao, Bolin; Tang, Weiming; Ong, Jason J.; Baral, Stefan; Bauermeister, José A.; Yang, Li Gang; Luo, Zhenzhou; Tucker, Joseph D.
In: Sexual Health, 01.01.2019.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Providing competent, comprehensive and inclusive sexual health services for men who have sex with men in low- and middle-income countries
T2 - A scoping review
AU - Bien-Gund, Cedric H.
AU - Zhao, Peipei
AU - Cao, Bolin
AU - Tang, Weiming
AU - Ong, Jason J.
AU - Baral, Stefan
AU - Bauermeister, José A.
AU - Yang, Li Gang
AU - Luo, Zhenzhou
AU - Tucker, Joseph D.
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Although men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV and other sexually transmissible infections, sexual health services for MSM in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) remain under-resourced and are poorly understood. A scoping review of literature on MSM sexual health in LMIC was conducted in order to identify key clinical services and gaps in knowledge. Three databases were searched, in addition to hand-reviewing key journals and bulletins, to identify literature with a focus on MSM sexual health. Key services related to providing care to MSM in LMIC that emerged from our review are described. These services include creation of safe and confidential clinic environments, HIV testing services, behavioural interventions, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), rapid antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and STI services. Compared with high-income settings, major differences in LMIC include lack of diagnostic technology, unfavourable legal environments and lack of funding for MSM health. Innovative approaches to healthcare delivery, such as harnessing mobile technology, self-testing and crowdsourcing interventions, can improve health services among MSM in LMIC. There are gaps in the evidence about how best to provide sexual health services for MSM in LMIC settings. Implementation research and scale-up of existing biomedical and behavioural interventions, such as HIV/STI testing services, PrEP and early antiretroviral initiation are urgently needed in LMIC.
AB - Although men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV and other sexually transmissible infections, sexual health services for MSM in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) remain under-resourced and are poorly understood. A scoping review of literature on MSM sexual health in LMIC was conducted in order to identify key clinical services and gaps in knowledge. Three databases were searched, in addition to hand-reviewing key journals and bulletins, to identify literature with a focus on MSM sexual health. Key services related to providing care to MSM in LMIC that emerged from our review are described. These services include creation of safe and confidential clinic environments, HIV testing services, behavioural interventions, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), rapid antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and STI services. Compared with high-income settings, major differences in LMIC include lack of diagnostic technology, unfavourable legal environments and lack of funding for MSM health. Innovative approaches to healthcare delivery, such as harnessing mobile technology, self-testing and crowdsourcing interventions, can improve health services among MSM in LMIC. There are gaps in the evidence about how best to provide sexual health services for MSM in LMIC settings. Implementation research and scale-up of existing biomedical and behavioural interventions, such as HIV/STI testing services, PrEP and early antiretroviral initiation are urgently needed in LMIC.
KW - guidelines
KW - HIV care continuum
KW - HIV testing
KW - sexually transmissible infections
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85067676044&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85067676044&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1071/SH18191
DO - 10.1071/SH18191
M3 - Review article
C2 - 31213225
AN - SCOPUS:85067676044
JO - Sexual Health
JF - Sexual Health
SN - 1448-5028
ER -