ArticleBMC infectious diseases2018
Linking young men who have sex with men (YMSM) to STI physicians: a nationwide cross-sectional survey in China.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Missing assent: a global systematic review of ethical practices in HIV research with men who have sex with men (MSM) under 18.BMC medical ethics · 2026Pooled it
- Web-Based Service Provision of HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention, Testing, Linkage, and Treatment for Key Populations: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- An Incognito Standardized Patient Approach for Measuring and Reducing Intersectional Healthcare Stigma: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Control Trial.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2025Trial
- Anticipated HIV stigma among HIV negative men who have sex with men in China: a cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2020Trial
- Navigating sexual healthcare: a qualitative study on experiences, STI knowledge, and information sources among migrant men who have sex with men in the Netherlands.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- The dissociation between condom use knowledge and actual behavior among college students in Guangzhou, China: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2026Article
- Depressive symptoms, perceived social support, and anticipated HIV stigma among HIV-negative/unknown men who have sex with men in China during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multicenter online cross-sectional study.Brain and behavior · 2023Article
- Social Experiences, Discrimination, and Violence among Men Who Have Sex with Men in a Northern Brazilian Capital.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Sociodemographic and Psychological Predictors of Seeking Health Information Online among GB2M in Ontario: Findings from the #iCruise Project.International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · 2022Article
- Article
- HIV incidence among men who have sex with men using geosocial networking smartphone application in Beijing, China: an open cohort study.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMany young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are reluctant to seek health services and trust local physicians. Online information seeking may encourage YMSM to identify and see trustworthy physicians, obtain sexual health services, and obtain testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This study examined online STI information seeking behaviors among Chinese YMSM and its association with offline physician visits.
methodsWe conducted a nationwide online survey among YMSM through WeChat, the largest social media platform in China. We collected information on individual demographics, sexual behaviors, online STI information seeking, offline STI testing, and STI physician visits. We examined the most commonly used platforms (search engines, governmental websites, counseling websites, generic social media, gay mobile apps, and mobile medical apps) and their trustworthiness. We assessed interest and willingness to use an MSM-friendly physician finder function embedded within a gay mobile app. Logistic regression models were used to examine the correlation between online STI information searching and offline physician visits.
resultsA total of 503 men completed the survey. Most men (425/503, 84.5%) searched for STI information online. The most commonly used platform to obtain STI information were search engines (402/425, 94.5%), followed by gay mobile apps (201/425, 47.3%). Men reported high trustworthiness of information received from gay mobile apps. Men also reported high interest (465/503, 92.4%) and willingness (463/503, 92.0%) to use a MSM-friendly physician finder function within such apps. Both using general social media (aOR =1.14, 95%CI: 1.04-1.26) and mobile medical apps (aOR =1.16, 95%CI: 1.01-1.34) for online information seeking were associated with visiting a physician.
conclusionOnline STI information seeking is common and correlated with visiting a physician among YMSM. Cultivating partnerships with the emerging mobile medical apps may be useful for disseminating STI information and providing better physician services to YMSM.
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Registered trials
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