Clients of an HIV-Service NPO: Features of Self-Preservation Behavior

This study about men who have sex with men, clients of an HIV service NGO, who are a vulnerable group in terms of contracting and spreading HIV infection. The study was conducted in 2022 on the territory of Moscow and the Moscow Region. 3273 men were interviewed, Russians (76.7%) and citizens of other countries (23.3%). Most representatives of the study group (61.1%) are aware of their health-destroying behavior and are afraid of contracting HIV infection. Every tenth person is infected with HIV (9.3%), 8.5% have or have had syphilis, 1.7% hepatitis C, and 1.9% hepatitis B. The behavior of the respondents is characterized as: one in ten is involved in prostitution (5.6%) or used the services of people involved in prostitution (8.6%), one in three (26.8%) had sex with HIV-infected people whose the status is confirmed, and almost one in two had sex with a person whose HIV status the respondent was not sure of (42.9%). More than half of the study participants (53.4%) do not use protection during sex. Almost all additionally indicated that they had risky sexual contacts: with men (95.4%), and/or with women (17.2%), and/or with transgender people (4.4%). 14.4% use drugs, of which 2.3% inject and 11.7% non-inject, 2.3% inject and noninject. 14.4% use drugs before and/or during sex. Self-preserving behavior with general health-destroying behavior is most clearly manifested in checking one's health status for the presence of syphilis (88.7% were tested before contacting an HIV service NGO). 94.5% of respondents were tested for HIV infection. 50.1% are regularly tested for socially significant infections / are regular clients of the HIV service NGO.