Barriers and facilitators for HIV rapid testing among transgender women and gay and other men who have sex with men in Brazil: A scoping review

Transgender women (TGW) and men who have sex with other men (MSM)often encounter disparities in accessing HIV testing, leading to delayeddiagnoses and worse prognoses. We analysed barriers and facilitatorsfor accessing HIV rapid testing by TGW and MSM in Brazil, 2004-2023.Citations were included whether the study population consisted ofindividuals aged ≥18y old, and studies addressed HIV testing and havebeen conducted in Brazil. The study protocol was based on JoannaBriggs’ recommendations for scoping reviews. We included 11 studieson TGW and 17 on MSM. The belief that one is not at risk of contractingHIV infection, fear expressed in different ways (e.g. lack ofconfidentiality) and younger age were the main barriers. Feeling at riskfor HIV infection, curiosity, and favourable characteristics of the settingwhere the testing takes place were cited as the main facilitators.Barriers and facilitators specifically for HIV self-testing included,respectively, concerns about conducting the test alone vs. autonomy/flexibility. Brazil is unlikely to achieve the UN’ 95-95-95 goal withoutminimising testing disparities. Combating prejudice against TGW andMSM in testing settings, along with educational campaigns andtransparent protocols to ensure confidentiality, can help increase HIVtesting among these populations.

• Population(s)
  • Men who have sex with men
  • Transgender communities
  • General HIV- population
• Testing
  • Testing