ArticleClinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America2021
Social Media-Based Secondary Distribution of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Syphilis Self-testing Among Chinese Men Who Have Sex with Men.
Article in Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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
38 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- The key design features and effectiveness of social network interventions for HIV testing and linkage services in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2025Pooled it
- Social network strategies to distribute HIV self-testing kits: a global systematic review and network meta-analysis.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2024Pooled it
- Counseling Supporting HIV Self-Testing and Linkage to Care Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Pooled it
- The Practice and Potential Role of HIV Self-testing in China: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2022Pooled it
- mHealth Interventions to Promote HIV Self-Testing Among Key Populations: A Systematic Review of Effectiveness and Implementation Outcomes.Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS CarePooled it
- Participants and Recipients in Social Network Distribution of HIV Self-Testing Kits Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in China.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2025Trial
- Secondary Distribution of Dual HIV/Syphilis Self-Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial in China.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Trial
- Optimizing Peer Distribution of Syphilis Self-Testing Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in China: A Multi-City Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial.Archives of sexual behavior · 2023Trial
- Monetary incentives and peer referral in promoting secondary distribution of HIV self-testing among men who have sex with men in China: A randomized controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2022Trial
- Sustaining success: a qualitative study of gay and bisexual men's experiences and perceptions of HIV self-testing in a randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2021Trial
- Partner-delivered HIV self-test kits with and without financial incentives in antenatal care and index patients with HIV in Malawi: a three-arm, cluster-randomised controlled trial.The Lancet. Global health · 2021Trial
- Evaluating peer navigation in promoting digital secondary distribution of HIV self-testing among men who have sex with men in China: study protocol for a two-arm randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Peer perspectives on assisted partner notification for HIV and syphilis testing among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in Uganda: a qualitative study.Discover public health · 2026Article
- Syphilis self-testing and implications for syphilis control and prevention.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2025Article
- Application of the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Theory to Explore HIV Self-Testing Behavior Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Southwest China.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Feasibility and acceptability of peer-delivered HIV and syphilis self-test kits and assisted partner notification services for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men: a qualitative study in Uganda.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2025Article
- Peer support to improve the secondary distribution of Internet-based HIV self-testing kits among men who have sex with men in Zhuhai, China.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Differences in HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM): comparison between HIV-positive and HIV-negative college students.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Standardly Trained Peer Volunteer-Led, Social App Recruiting-Based Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing Strategy Using Rapid Testing Kits (SPARK) Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Population-Based Survey Evaluation.Open forum infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Needs & networks: understanding the role and impact of social networks on HIV (self-)testing among GBMSM and trans people in England and Wales.BMC public health · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
19 authors at 9 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSocial media and secondary distribution (distributing self-testing kits by indexes through their networks) both show strong promise to improve human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) self-testing uptake. We assessed an implementation program in Zhuhai, China, which focused on the secondary distribution of HIV/syphilis self-test kits among men who have sex with men (MSM) via social media.
methodsMen aged ≥16 years, born biologically male, and ever had sex with another man were recruited as indexes. Banner ads on a social media platform invited the participants to apply for up to 5 self-test kits every 3 months. Index men paid a deposit of US$15/kit refundable upon submitting a photograph of a completed test result via an online submission system. They were informed that they could distribute the kits to others (referred to as "alters").
resultsA total of 371 unique index men applied for 1150 kits (mean age, 28.7 [standard deviation, 6.9] years), of which 1141 test results were returned (99%). Among them, 1099 were valid test results; 810 (74%) were from 331 unique index men, and 289 tests (26%) were from 281 unique alters. Compared to index men, a higher proportion of alters were naive HIV testers (40% vs 21%; P < .001). The total HIV self-test reactivity rate was 3%, with alters having a significantly higher rate than indexes (5% vs 2%; P = .008). A total of 21 people (3%) had a reactive syphilis test result.
conclusionsIntegrating social media with the secondary distribution of self-test kits may hold promise to increase HIV/syphilis testing coverage and case identification among MSM.
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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.