An exploratory study of factors associated with difficulties in accessing HIV services during COVID-19 among Chinese gay and bisexual men in Hong Kong

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the provision of HIV services being disrupted. This paper examines the factors that are associated with the difficulty in accessing HIV services during COVID-19.
Methods: An online survey of 236 Chinese-speaking gay and bisexual men in Hong Kong conducted in 2020.
Results: It was found that among those who expressed a need of accessing HIV services during COVID-19, 22.9%, 33.9% and 43.2% indicated moderate-to-high, mild, and no difficulties in accessing HIV services respectively. Difficulties in accessing HIV services were positively related to concerns about potential COVID-19 infection, experience of actual impact on health because of COVID-19, disruption in work/studies and reduced connection to the LGBT + community during the pandemic. It was also found that difficulties in accessing HIV services were positively associated with frequency of having sex with casual partners but was not significantly associated with frequency of having sex with regular partners.
Conclusions: This paper provides novel empirical evidence for understanding difficulties in accessing HIV services during COVID-19. It identifies factors that are associated with difficulties in accessing HIV services – disruption in work/studies and frequency of having sex with casual partners. Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases.