Table 2.

Past Syphilis Self-test Experience, Posttest Health Services Utilization, and Potential Harms of Self-testing Among Chinese Men Who Have Sex With Men

Attributes	No.	%
Characteristics of Syphilis Self-testing
Location where syphilis self-test kit was obtained
Community-based organization	117	67.2
Online drug store	58	33.3
Hospital	25	14.4
Friend	11	6.3
Pharmacy	6	3.5
Syphilis self-testing results (last self-test)
Reactive	22	12.6
Not sure	8	4.6
Negative	144	82.8
Posttest actions
Sought care following reactive/uncertain syphilis self-testing result (n = 30)	25	83.3
Time since reactive/uncertain syphilis self-testing result to seeking care (n = 25)
0–2 weeks	11	44.0
2–4 weeks	7	28.0
1–3 months	6	24.0
>3 months	1	4.0
Location for seeking care (n = 25)
General hospital	9	36.0
Specialist STI service	9	36.0
CDC	3	12.0
Pharmacy/online counseling/others	4	16.0
Benefits
Self-test as their first-time syphilis test	90	51.7
Tested together with regular male sex partner	92	52.9
Joined with HIV self-testing	161	92.5
Increased syphilis testing uptake after first self-test	49	28.2
Adverse events
Pressured testing	30	17.2
Types of pressure
Physical violence	6	3.4
Threats of violence	7	4.0
Verbal abuse	10	5.7
Psychological pressure	6	3.4
Excessive control of activities	5	2.9
Withholding of household resources	3	1.7
Threatening to end a relationship	10	5.7

N = 174.

Abbreviations: CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; STI, sexually transmitted infection.