P226: Sociodemographic characteristics, community engagement, and stigma among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) who attend MSM-led versus public sexual health clinics: A cross-sectional survey in China.

Background: Little research has examined differences between gay, bisexual, and other MSM (GBMSM) who attend community-led clinics versus GBMSM who attend public STI clinics. Understanding these differences is vital in designing relevant and people-centred service delivery strategies for GBMSM in China. This study examined GBMSM who attended GBMSM-led clinics compared to those who attended public STI clinics. Methods: Data used in this analysis were derived from a cross-sectional formative research study among GBMSM aged ≥18 years in Guangzhou, China. The study was conducted from May to August 2022. Participants were enrolled from a GBMSM-led clinic run by a community-based organization staffed by GBMSM volunteer or, a public STI clinic staffed by physicians. Chi-squared tests were used to compare sociodemographic characteristics, and linear regression was used to compare community engagement, community connectedness, social cohesion, internalized homonegativity, and perceived homonegativity among all GBMSM. Results: We recruited 94 participants (including 45 at the GBMSM-led clinic and 49 GBMSM at the public STI clinic). The overall mean age was 26.8 years old. Most of the participants had never been married (89/94, 95%), and self-identified as gay (79/94, 84%). Table 1 summarizes our main study findings. Our analysis showed no large differences in sociodemographic characteristics or other factors between the two groups. Men at the GBMSM-led clinic may be more likely to self-identify as gay than bisexual or another sexual orientation (p=0.22). Men who were tested at the public clinic were more likely than those at the GBMSM-led clinic to present with symptoms (p=0.007). We observed a trend of higher internalised homonegativity in GBMSM at the public STI clinic (β=-1.52, p=0.10). Community engagement may be higher among men presenting to GBMSMled clinics (β=0.58, p=0.065). Conclusion: Our data suggest that men in GBMSMled clinics may be more willing to engage in community activities and have less internalised homonegativity compared to men in public STI clinics. These data have implications for designing community engagement strategies for GBMSM, delivering anti-stigma interventions, and promotion of asymptomatic STI testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]