Introduction:

In Cuba, as in other Latin American and Caribbean countries, men who have sex with men exhibit the highest prevalence rates of HIV infection.

Objective:

Examine the behaviors and practices associated to the risk of contracting HIV among men who have sex with men in Cuba.

Methods:

A cross-sectional observational study was conducted from 9 December 2019 to 9 January 2020 in the cities most affected by the HIV epidemic in Cuba, with the voluntary participation of 757 people aged over 18 years. A structured questionnaire was applied which explored into the individual assessment of the risk of HIV infection. Results were expressed as frequencies and percentages. Independence was examined with Fisher's exact test and a significance level of 0.05.

Results:

During the three months preceding the interview, 39.6% of the participants reported having been exposed to HIV; 52.8% had unprotected sex; 6.0% had syphilis and 3.3% had gonorrhea; 63.6% reported having consumed alcohol for approximately two hours and 10.7% declared having shared devices such as syringes or needles; 45.1% reported four or more sexual partners; 38.0% accepted money in exchange for sexual relations, and 10.0% had unprotected sex with an HIV-positive partner.

Conclusions:

Results confirm the occurrence of behaviors and practices associated to a higher risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV among participants in the study.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )