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HIV researchers use short messaging service (SMS)-based surveys to monitor health behaviors more closely than what would be possible with in-person assessment. Benefits are tempered by nonresponse to completing surveys. Understanding response patterns and their associated study participant characteristics would guide more tailored use of SMS-based surveys for HIV studies. We examined response to weekly 7-item SMS surveys administered as part of an HIV prevention trial. Using Mixture hidden Markov models (MHMM), we identified the underlying response patterns shared by subgroups of participants over time and quantified the association between these response patterns and participant characteristics. Three underlying response patterns were identified; responders, responders with phone-related errors, and non-responders. Non-responders versus responders were more likely to be younger, male, cis-gender, Black and Latinx participants with histories of homelessness, incarceration, and social support service utilization. Responders with phone-related errors compared to non-responders were more likely to be Black, Latinx, female, students, and have a history of incarceration and social support service utilization. More nuanced results from MHMM analyses better inform what strategies to use for increasing SMS response rates, including assisting in securing phone ownership/service for responders with phone-related errors and identifying alternative strategies for non-responders. Actively collecting and monitoring non-delivery notification data available from SMS gateway service companies offers another opportunity to identify and connect with participants when they are willing but unable to respond during follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This observational cross-sectional study of 152 people with HIV (PWH) examined the effects of age and estimated duration of HIV infection (EDI) on depressive and anxiety symptoms. All participants were cisgender men and completed the Profile of Moods State (POMS), a self-report inventory of current (i.e., past week) mood states. Overall, study results confirmed higher levels of anxiety and depression in PWH compared to individuals without HIV. Age group (< 50 or ≥ 50 years) moderated the effect of EDI (< 3 or ≥ 3 years) on mood disturbance. Specifically, younger PWH with early diagnosed infection exhibited the highest levels of depression and anxiety, whereas depression and anxiety were attenuated in older PWH with early infection such that their POMS scores did not significantly differ from the HIV-negative and chronically HIV-infected groups. Despite the small sample size and other important limitations in our study design, our preliminary findings confirm previous observations that older people may have some adaptive ability to better handle the acute psychological stressors associated with recent HIV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined concurrency among sexual partners reported by men who have sex with men (MSM) with recent (acute or early) HIV infection in San Diego, California (2002-2015). Partners overlapping in time in the past 3 months were considered concurrent. Logistic generalized linear mixed models were used to identify factors associated with concurrency at the partner-level. 56% (388/699) of partners were concurrent to ≥1 other partner. The odds of concurrency were higher among partners >10 years younger than the participant (vs. within 10 years of age) [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09-4.52], longer term partners (AOR per month = 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.03), and partners met online (AOR = 1.56, 95% CI 0.98-2.48). Concurrency is common among partners of recently HIV-infected MSM. Tailored HIV prevention strategies for MSM with older partners, longer term partners, and partners met online may help minimize the potential impact of concurrency on HIV transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimated the prevalence of conscious risk, specifically defined as unprotected anal intercourse with an HIV-serodiscordant partner, and identified individual-level and partnership-level predictors of this behavior. Conscious risk was estimated to be practiced by 4.8% of HIV-negative MSM and 15.7% of HIV-positive MSM over a six-month period ( p < 0.01). Among HIV-negative MSM, episodes of conscious risk were estimated to be more frequent among individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 (compared to those 55 years of age or older), among African Americans and Whites (compared to Latinos and Asians), individuals earning less than 10,000 dollars per year (compared to those earning 50,000 and 70,000 dollars per year), and among users of methamphetamine, downers, pain killers, and amyl nitrate (poppers). Among HIV-positive MSM, episodes of conscious risk were more frequent among Whites and Asians (compared to those of 'other' races, i.e., those of mixed race, or those who did not exclusively self-report as White, Black, Latino, or Asian), those with full-time employment (as opposed to those with part-time employment), those earning between 30,000 and 50,000 dollars per year or 70,000 dollars per year or greater (compared to those earning under 10,000 dollars per year), and recent users of poppers. Conscious risk was more frequently reported in partnerships with large age gaps and in main partnerships (as opposed to casual or exchange partnerships). Individuals at high risk for conscious risk may be ideal candidates for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]