Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the participants.
| All participants (n = 350) | Being followed up at month 12 (n = 274) | Dropouts (n = 76) | P-values | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | ||
| Socio-demographics | ||||
| Age group (years) | ||||
| 18–24 | 48 (13.7) | 34 (12.4) | 14 (18.4) | 0.34 |
| 25–30 | 128 (36.6) | 106 (38.7) | 22 (28.9) | |
| 31–40 | 133 (38.0) | 103 (37.6) | 30 (39.5) | |
| >40 | 41 (11.7) | 31 (11.3) | 10 (13.2) | |
| Relationship status | ||||
| Currently single | 265 (75.7) | 210 (76.6) | 55 (72.4) | 0.44 |
| Married or cohabited with a man | 85 (24.3) | 64 (23.4) | 21 (27.6) | |
| Highest education level attained | ||||
| Secondary or below | 47 (13.4) | 37 (13.5) | 10 (13.2) | 0.94 |
| Tertiary of above | 303 (86.6) | 237 (86.5) | 66 (86.8) | |
| Employment status | ||||
| Full-time | 290 (82.9) | 229 (83.6) | 61 (80.3) | 0.50 |
| Part-time/unemployed/retired/students | 60 (17.1) | 45 (16.4) | 15 (19.7) | |
| Monthly personal income, HK$ (US$) | ||||
| <10,000 (1,282) | 37 (10.6) | 27 (9.9) | 10 (13.2) | 0.28 |
| 10,000–19,999 (1,282–2,564) | 106 (30.3) | 87 (31.8) | 19 (25.0) | |
| 20,000–39,999 (2,565–5,128) | 134 (38.3) | 107 (39.1) | 27 (35.5) | |
| 40,000 or above (5,129) | 67 (19.1) | 50 (18.2) | 17 (22.4) | |
| Refuse to disclose | 6 (1.7) | 3 (1.1) | 3 (3.9) | |
| Sexual orientation | ||||
| Homosexual | 319 (91.1) | 252 (92.0) | 67 (88.2) | 0.30 |
| Bisexual | 31 (8.9) | 22 (8.0) | 9 (11.8) | |
| Lifestyles | ||||
| Smoking in lifetime | ||||
| No | 257 (73.4) | 203 (74.1) | 54 (71.1) | 0.60 |
| Yes | 93 (26.6) | 71 (25.9) | 22 (28.9) | |
| Drinking in the past year | ||||
| No | 86 (24.6) | 64 (23.4) | 22 (28.9) | 0.32 |
| Yes | 264 (75.4) | 210 (76.6) | 54 (71.1) | |
| History of HPV screening | ||||
| HPV screening in the past year | ||||
| No | 316 (90.3) | 247 (90.1) | 69 (90.8) | 0.87 |
| Yes | 34 (9.7) | 27 (9.9) | 7 (9.2) | |
| History of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) and service utilization | ||||
| Self-reported HIV sero-status | ||||
| Negative | 311 (88.9) | 251 (91.6) | 60 (78.9) | 0.02 |
| Positive | 6 (1.7) | 4 (1.5) | 2 (2.6) | |
| Refuse to disclose | 11 (3.1) | 7 (2.6) | 4 (5.3) | |
| Had never tested for HIV antibody | 22 (6.3) | 12 (4.4) | 10 (13.2) | |
| History of other STIs (Yes) | 81 (23.1) | 67 (24.5) | 14 (18.4) | 0.27 |
| Utilization of other HIV/STI prevention services (e.g., receiving free condoms, peer education and pamphlets, and attending seminars) (Yes) | 81 (23.1) | 69 (25.2) | 12 (15.8) | 0.09 |
| Sexual behaviors in the past 6 months | ||||
| Anal intercourse with regular male sex partners (Yes) | 293 (83.7) | 230 (83.9) | 63 (82.9) | 0.83 |
| Anal intercourse with non-regular male sex partners (Yes) | 170 (48.6) | 124 (45.3) | 46 (60.5) | 0.02 |
| Anal intercourse with male sex workers (Yes) | 9 (2.6) | 4 (1.5) | 5 (6.6) | 0.01 |
| Condomless anal intercourse with men (Yes) | 176 (50.3) | 142 (51.8) | 34 (44.7) | 0.27 |
| Multiple male sex partnerships (Yes) | 191 (54.6) | 143 (52.2) | 48 (63.2) | 0.09 |
| Sexual intercourse with female sex partners (Yes) | 6 (1.7) | 3 (1.1) | 3 (3.9) | 0.09 |
| Condomless sex with female sex partners (Yes) | 3 (0.9) | 2 (0.7) | 1 (1.3) | 0.62 |
| Sexualized drug use (use of psychoactive substances before or during sexual intercourse) (Yes) | 20 (5.7) | 17 (6.2) | 3 (3.9) | 0.45 |
| Perceptions related to HPV screening (in general) based on the HBM | ||||
| Perceived susceptibility to HPV (high/very high) | ||||
| Perceived risk of contracting HPV in lifetime | 89 (25.4) | 65 (23.7) | 24 (31.6) | 0.16 |
| Perceived risk of contracting genital warts in lifetime | 72 (20.6) | 50 (18.2) | 22 (28.9) | 0.04 |
| Perceived risk of having penile/anal cancers in lifetime | 42 (12.0) | 32 (11.7) | 10 (13.2) | 0.73 |
| Perceived Susceptibility Scale a, mean (SD) | 8.2 (2.6) | 8.1 (2.6) | 8.8 (2.7) | 0.35 |
| Perceived severity of HPV-related diseases (agree/strongly agree) | ||||
| HPV infection would increase risk of HIV acquisition | 106 (30.3) | 81 (29.6) | 25 (32.9) | 0.58 |
| HPV infection would cause penile or anal cancers | 127 (36.3) | 98 (35.8) | 29 (38.2) | 0.70 |
| Genital warts would have severe harms on your health | 182 (52.0) | 140 (51.1) | 42 (55.3) | 0.52 |
| Penile or anal cancers would have severe harms on your health | 263 (75.1) | 207 (75.5) | 56 (73.7) | 0.74 |
| Perceived Severity Scale b, mean (SD) | 13.4 (3.1) | 13.3 (3.2) | 13.8 (2.7) | 0.43 |
| Perceived benefits of HPV screening (agree/strongly agree) | ||||
| HPV screening could detect HPV infection earlier, so as to have better treatment outcomes |
314 (89.7) | 243 (88.7) | 71 (93.4) | 0.23 |
| HPV screening could prevent cancers caused by HPV infection | 273 (78.0) | 211 (77.0) | 62 (81.6) | 0.40 |
| Perceived Benefit Scale c, mean (SD) | 8.5 (1.5) | 8.5 (1.6) | 8.5 (1.2) | 0.97 |
| Perceived barriers of receiving HPV screening (agree/strongly agree) | ||||
| Others would think you are having high risk sexual behaviors | 57 (16.3) | 40 (14.6) | 17 (22.4) | 0.11 |
| HPV screening would cause pain and discomfort | 38 (10.9) | 24 (8.8) | 14 (18.4) | 0.02 |
| Perceived Barrier Scale d, mean (SD) | 4.9 (1.7) | 4.8 (1.5) | 5.1 (2.2) | 0.19 |
| Perceived cue to action related to HPV screening (agree/strongly agree) | ||||
| People who are important to you suggest that you take up HPV screening | 148 (42.3) | 117 (42.7) | 31 (40.8) | 0.77 |
| Item score, mean (SD) | 3.3 (1.1) | 3.3 (1.1) | 3.2 (1.1) | 0.50 |
| Perceived self-efficacy related to HPV screening (agree/strongly agree) | ||||
| It is easy for you to take up HPV screening in the next year if you want to | 189 (54.0) | 146 (53.3) | 43 (58.6) | 0.61 |
| Item score, mean (SD) | 3.6 (1.0) | 3.6 (1.0) | 3.7 (0.9) | 0.47 |
| Behavioral intention to take up any type of HPV screening | ||||
| Perceived chance to take up clinician-collected HPV screening in the next year if it cost HK $700 (US $89.7) per episode | ||||
| Very low/low/moderate | 280 (80.0) | 217 (79.2) | 63 (82.9) | 0.48 |
| High/very high | 70 (20.0) | 57 (20.8) | 13 (17.1) | |
| Perceived chance to take up clinician-collected HPV screening in the next year if it is provided for free | ||||
| Very low/low/moderate | 81 (23.1) | 60 (21.9) | 21 (27.6) | 0.29 |
| High/very high | 269 (76.9) | 214 (78.1) | 55 (72.4) |
a
Perceived Susceptibility Scale: three items, Cronbach's alpha: 0.85, one factor was identified by exploratory factor analysis, explaining for 77.2% of total variances.
b
Perceived Severity Scale: four items, Cronbach's alpha: 0.72, one factor was identified by exploratory factor analysis, explaining for 54.9% of total variances.
c
Perceived Benefit Scale: two items, Cronbach's alpha: 0.71, one factor was identified by exploratory factor analysis, explaining for 77.9% of total variances.
d
Perceived Barrier Scale: two items, Cronbach's alpha: 0.75, one factor was identified by exploratory factor analysis, explaining for 57.4% of total variances.
HBM, Health Belief Model; HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; HPV, Human Papillomavirus; SD, Standard Deviation; STI, Sexually Transmitted Infection.