The Issue of Late Recourse to HIV Testing. A Study of the Psychosocial Factors at Play Within Men Who Have Sex With Men in France.

The late recourse to HIV testing, among the population in general way and among MSM population in a more specific way, participates in the dissemination of the HIV epidemic. Actually, there is no cure for HIV infection, but treatments that reduce viral charge to undetectable level exists. When diagnosed and treated earlier, seropositive people will be less communicating the virus because of the reduction of their viral charge.

This study aims to uncover the reasons behind the late recourse to HIV testing in MSM population facing a high risk of contamination.

The study hypothesis, is that late recourse to HIV testing is probably related to social and economics factors like age, social standing, accessibility to the diagnosis or even to a traditional beliefs or a fear of stigma etc. To shed the light on these factors, the main objectives of the investigator will try to investigate and analyze the psycho-social hindrances and levers through a quantitative and qualitative approach. This plurality of approaches is a part of a methodological triangulation method described by Kalampalikis & Apostolidis, 2016.

People among MSM community having had a late or very late HIV test (as defined by biological parameters :CD4≤200/mm3 or having been diagnosed with AIDS), will be recruited in this study. During the first phase of the study, the eligible population will participate to individual or group interview . This qualitative part of the project will allow the set up of a questionnaire that will be diffused widely to the MSM community to have quantitative results.