Geosexual Archetype, Preventive Behaviors, and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among High-Risk Men Who Have Sex With Men

Abstract

Background Social geography plays an important role in transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among men who have sex with men. Previous qualitative work had identified 7 “geosexual archetypes,” each with distinct travel patterns for sex and potentially important differences in STI rates. The objective of this article was to explore what could be learned about STI transmission by looking at STI prevention strategies (condom use and preexposure prophylaxis use) and prevalence of STIs among these geosexual archetypes. Methods We analyzed data from the Sex Now 2019 online survey in Canada. Men who have sex with men who reported 3 or more partners in the past 6 months were included in the analysis (n = 3649). Results The most common archetype was “geoflexible” (sex at home, partner's home, and other places; 35.6%), followed by “privates” (sex only at own/partner's home; 23.0%); the least common archetypes was “rover” (sex not at home or partner's place; 4.0%). There were significant variations in both STI prevention strategies and prevalence of bacterial STIs in the past year by geosexual archetype. In particular, among those who were HIV negative, those who reported a geoflexible archetype and used preexposure prophylaxis but did not use condoms consistently had a 52.6% prevalence of bacterial STIs, which was much higher compared with all other groups. Within other archetypes, those living with HIV had the highest prevalence of bacterial STIs. Conclusions Geosexual archetype together with participant's STI prevention strategies was a strong predictor of bacterial STI risk. Understanding how place is connected to bacterial STIs is key in prevention as individuals do not live in isolation.