ArticlePloS one2020
HIV testing, care and viral suppression among men who have sex with men and transgender individuals in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
20 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- HIV prevalence in transgender women and cisgender men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa.AIDS (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Health status of transgender people globally: A systematic review of research on disease burden and correlates.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men, transgender women and cisgender male sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2022Pooled it
- Men missing from the HIV care continuum in sub-Saharan Africa: a meta-analysis and meta-synthesis.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2022Pooled it
- "Safe Places Like These are Rare": Feasibility of the Speaking Out and Allying Relationships (SOAR) Intervention for HIV-Positive Sexual Minority Men in Eastern Cape, South Africa.AIDS and behavior · 2026Trial
- Evaluation of the iCARE Nigeria Pilot Intervention Using Social Media and Peer Navigation to Promote HIV Testing and Linkage to Care Among High-Risk Young Men: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial.JAMA network open · 2022Trial
- Exploring healthcare experiences of transgender people in the Jabula Uzibone study, South Africa: a longitudinal implementation science study.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2025Observational
- Men's Voices on Long-Acting Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Delivery Modalities: Acceptability and Preferences Among Cisgender Men and Men Who Have Sex With Men in South Africa.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2025Article
- Global Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevalence and Risk Behaviors in Transmasculine Individuals: A Scoping Review.Transgender health · 2025Review
- Tailoring a Skills-Based Serostatus Disclosure Intervention for Transgender Women in South Africa: Protocol for a Usability and Feasibility Study.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- The treatment gap and the HIV care continuum for cisgender men who have sex with men in three South African cities: Findings from a biobehavioural survey, 2019.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Transgender-Specific Differentiated HIV Service Delivery Models in the South African Public Primary Health Care System (Jabula Uzibone): Protocol for an Implementation Study.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Piloting the Inclusion of the Key Populations Unique Identifier Code in the South African Routine Health Information Management System: Protocol for a Multiphased Study.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Correlates of viral suppression among sexual minority men and transgender women living with HIV in Mpumalanga, South Africa.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Depression and HIV Care-seeking Behaviors in a Population-based Sample in North West Province, South Africa.AIDS and behavior · 2023Article
- Distinguishing trans women in men who have sex with men populations and their health access in East Africa: A Tanzanian study.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2022Article
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- Article
- Project BESPOKE (Integrated Bio-Behavioral Assessment of HIV and STI Among Young Tertiary Student Men Who Have Sex With Men in Nairobi, Kenya): A Respondent-Driven Sampling Survey Protocol.Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
- Online socializing among men who have sex with men and transgender people in Nairobi and Johannesburg and implications for public health-related research and health promotion: an analysis of qualitative and respondent-driven sampling survey data.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
introductionMen who have sex with men and transgender individuals (MSM/TG) carry a disproportionately high burden of HIV, including in South Africa. However, there are few empirical population-representative estimates of viral suppression and the HIV care cascade including HIV testing among this population, nor of factors associated with these outcomes.
methodsWe conducted a respondent driven sampling (RDS) survey among 301 MSM/TG in Johannesburg in 2017. Participants gave blood samples for HIV testing and viral load. Participants self-completed a survey including sociodemographics, HIV testing history, and engagement in care. We calculated RDS-II weighted estimates of the percentage of HIV-negative MSM/TG reporting HIV testing in the previous 6 months, their testing experience and preferences. Among those HIV-positive, we estimated the percentage status-aware, on ART, and virally suppressed (<50 viral copies/ml plasma). We conducted RDS-weighted robust Poisson regression to obtain weighted prevalence ratios of factors associated with 1) HIV testing among those HIV-negative; and 2) viral suppression among those HIV-positive.
resultsThere were 118/300 HIV-positive MSM/TG, (37.5%). Of the HIV-negative MSM/TG, 61.5% reported that they had tested for HIV in the previous 6 months, which was associated with selling sex to men (Prevalence Ratio = 1.67, 95% CI 1.36-2.05). There were 76/118 HIV-positive MSM/TG (56.5%) who reported having previously tested positive for HIV and 39/118 (30.0%) who reported current ART. There were 58/118 HIV-positive MSM/TG with viral loads <50 copies/ml plasma (46.9%). Viral suppression was associated with older age (adjusted PR = 1.03, 95% CI 1.00-1.06 for each year), neighbourhood, and having bought sex from men (adjusted PR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.12-2.08).
conclusionsHIV prevalence was very high. Viral suppression among those HIV-positive was similar to the general male population in South Africa, but remains far short of national and international targets. A majority of HIV-negative MSM/TG had HIV tested in the previous 6 months, though there is room for improvement.
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