Evaluation of a syphilis awareness campaign for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM): Did we reach our targeted audience?

Background In 2017, we launched a syphilis awareness campaign (“Syphistory”) targeted towards gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM). Using data from a study of gbMSM in Vancouver, we describe participants who reported seeing Syphistory and whether it reached gbMSM at higher risk of syphilis. Methods Participants aged ≥16 years who reported having sex with another man in the previous six months were recruited through respondent-driven sampling. We analyzed data collected from September 17, 2017 to August 31, 2018. Characteristics of participants who reported seeing the campaign were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum and chi-square/Fisher’s exact test. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between seeing Syphistory and recently being tested for syphilis, controlling for potential confounding factors, namely age, HIV status, place of residence, education level, and recent illicit drug use (IDU). Results Of the 383 participants who responded, 103 (27%) reported seeing Syphistory. Participants who saw Syphistory tended to be younger (median 30 vs 32 years old, p=0.03), live in downtown Vancouver (58% vs 38%, p=0.46), had greater than a high school education (97% vs 89%, p=0.08), and were known to be HIV-negative (92% vs 81%, p=0.15). They reported more male sex partners (median 4 vs 3, p=0.12), condomless anal sex (92% vs 81%, p=0.06), and IDU (86% vs 72%, p=0.04) in the last 6 months. Almost 75% (52/86) of those who saw Syphistory reported a syphilis test within the last 3 months compared with 58% (97/244) who did not see Syphistory (p=0.01). Participants who saw Syphistory had a greater odds (aOR=3.63; 95% CI, 1.28–10.27) of a syphilis test within 3 months, versus no or unknown previous syphilis test. Conclusion Participants who saw Syphistory tended to report behaviours that may increase the risk of syphilis infection and were more likely to have had a recent syphilis test. Disclosure No significant relationships.