ArticleBMJ open2019
Relationship between gay app use and HIV testing among men who have sex with men in Shenzhen, China: a serial cross-sectional study.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Practice and Potential Role of HIV Self-testing in China: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2022Pooled it
- Exploring the relationship between HIV Testing frequency and sexual behavior, prevention prophylaxis use among MSM in Southern China.PloS one · 2026Trial
- Factors associated with mobile app-based ordering of HIV self-test kits among men who have sex with men in Atlanta, Detroit and New York City: an exploratory secondary analysis of a randomized control trial.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2023Trial
- Never tested for HIV? Characteristics of first-time testers among MSM in Chongqing and Chengdu, China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The precision of behavioral intervention strategies remain one of the key strategies for HIV prevention among MSM in the era of pharmaceutical interventions: an ecological study.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Sexual and Psychosocial Risk Burdens Associated With Online Sex Seeking Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men: Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Spatiotemporal and Behavioral Patterns of Men Who Have Sex With Men Using Geosocial Networking Apps in Shenzhen From Mobile Big Data Perspective: Longitudinal Observational Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Observational
- Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of human papillomavirus vaccination strategies among men who have sex with men in China: a modeling study.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
- Geosocial networking mobile applications use and HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men in Southern China: A cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Elimination of HIV transmission in Japanese MSM with combination interventions.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2022Article
- Changes in HIV Testing Utilization Among Chinese Men Who Have Sex With Men During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Shenzhen, China: An Observational Prospective Cohort Study.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
- Feasibility of Indirect Secondary Distribution of HIV Self-test Kits via WeChat Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: National Cross-sectional Study in China.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Article
- Factors related to HIV testing frequency in MSM based on the 2011-2018 survey in Tianjin, China: a hint for risk reduction strategy.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Implementation outcomes of HIV self-testing in low- and middle- income countries: A scoping review.PloS one · 2021Article
- Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo investigate the relationship between gay app use and HIV testing among men who have sex with men (MSM).
designSerial cross-sectional study.
settingA newly well-developed city in China.
participants4935 MSM were recruited through offline sampling methods from 2015 to 2017. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: The primary outcome is the difference in HIV testing between app and non-app users.
results2872 (58.2%) and 2159 (43.7%) participated MSM had been tested for HIV within lifetime and the past year, respectively. Compared with non-app-using MSM, app-using MSM had a significantly higher prevalence of HIV testing within lifetime (adjusted OR (AOR): 1.48, 95% CI 1.27 to 1.72) and the past year (AOR: 1.36, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.57). App-using MSM were more likely to take an HIV test at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (AOR: 1.48, 95% CI 1.24 to 1.76) and community-based organisations (AOR: 1.71, 95% CI 1.44 to 2.03), but less often at gay venues (AOR: 0.49, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.63). Meanwhile, app-using MSM were more likely to take self-testing (AOR: 1.61, 95% CI 1.21 to 2.14). Predictors of HIV testing in the past year were: having an education level of college or higher (AOR: 1.29, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.65), being self-identified as a homosexual (AOR: 1.23, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.46), being recruited through clinic-based sampling (AOR: 1.30, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.60), using gay app (AOR: 1.49, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.83), engaging in group sex (AOR: 1.64, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.19), having received HIV-related service (AOR: 5.49, 95% CI 4.57 to 6.60), having a high level of HIV-related knowledge (AOR: 1.33, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.61) and high-risk perception (AOR: 2.95, 95% CI 1.40 to 6.23).
conclusionsGay app use was significantly associated with increased HIV testing among MSM hard to reach by traditional outreach. Therefore, it is imperative to expand HIV testing among non-app-using MSM. Continued efforts, innovative strategies and increased resource are highly needed to realise the first '90' target.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.