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Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals’ Interest in Sexual Health Services at Collective Sex Venues in New York City

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Abstract

Sexual and gender minority individuals who attend collective sex venues (CSVs; establishments where people can have sex in groups or the presence of others) are at elevated risk for HIV and STIs. On-site sexual health interventions have been attempted at CSVs, but attendees’ interest in receiving such services is under-investigated. This paper presents results from a 2020 online cross-sectional survey completed by 342 sexual and gender minority individuals who attended CSVs in New York City. Interest in services such as on-site testing for STIs, testing vans near CSVs, and informational referrals was overall high, particularly among younger participants. Among participants who reported being HIV negative, those of younger age and those who were not using PrEP reported being more likely to take an HIV test if it would be offered at CSVs. In open-text survey responses, participants expressed interest in CSVs providing free prevention services such as HIV/STI testing, PEP, PrEP, and STI medications or vaccination, as well as in ways to improve norms surrounding condom use and consent at these venues. Some participants expressed barriers to on-site services such as privacy concerns, preexisting access to health services, an emphasis on personal responsibility, and negative reactions to the presence of service providers. However, some participants also felt that these services could be delivered in a positive, acceptable, and non-judgmental way, especially by involving CSV organizers and attendees in their implementation. Findings from this study can inform future initiatives to develop sexual health interventions at CSVs.

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Funding

This study was supported by a subaward (to Étienne Meunier) from the Fordham HIV and Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute (RETI), a training grant sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R25‐DA031608, PI: Celia B. Fisher).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA

    Xiang Cai, Daniel Alohan, Stephen Tellone, Alwyn Cohall & Étienne Meunier

  2. Center for Ethics Education and Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Celia B. Fisher

  3. Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Daniel Alohan

  4. ProHealth, New York, NY, USA

    Stephen Tellone

  5. Department of Community Health and Social Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Christian Grov

Authors
  1. Xiang Cai
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  2. Celia B. Fisher
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  3. Daniel Alohan
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  4. Stephen Tellone
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  5. Christian Grov
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  6. Alwyn Cohall
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  7. Étienne Meunier
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Contributions

The study was designed by ÉM under the mentorship of CBF. All authors contributed to the development of the questionnaires. Data collection was conducted by ÉM, DA, and ST. XC and ÉM collaborated on the analyses of quantitative and qualitative analysis survey data. All coauthors contributed to interpretation of findings. XC was responsible for the initial drafting of the manuscript with assistance by ÉM, and all coauthors participated in its revision.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Étienne Meunier.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethical Approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Institutional Review Board at Columbia University (Protocol #AAAS6360).

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Cai, X., Fisher, C.B., Alohan, D. et al. Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals’ Interest in Sexual Health Services at Collective Sex Venues in New York City. AIDS Behav 27, 761–771 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-022-03808-0

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