Veerle Buffel

Background: Social norms around PrEP act as both barriers to and stimulants of the use of PrEP across a wide range of target populations, yet remain relatively understudied. To stimulate theoretical innovation and provide a quantitative check for qualitative findings, we integrate norm types from the Behavioral Models (BM) and the Social Norms Approach (SNA) into the socio-ecological model (SEM) and analyze their relationship with PrEP-intention. We include attitude and role belief at the individual level, injunctive norms at the interpersonal level and descriptive norms and self-comparison to peers at the community level. Methods: The data were drawn from a survey on sexual health distributed on social media by Flemish MSM community organizations from October 19 ^th, 2022, to December 19 ^th, 2022, resulting in a total convenience sample of 610. Structural Equation Modelling analyses, including confirmatory factor analysis of the latent variables and path analysis of the relationship between norm types and PrEP intention, were conducted on a convenience sample of 350 Belgian MSM who were not living with HIV. Results: At the individual level, attitude towards PrEP was positively and moderately to strongly associated with intention, while role belief that ‘It is inappropriate for someone with my relationship(s) to use PrEP’ was negatively and moderately to strongly associated with intention. At the interpersonal level, injunctive norms, the expectation of a positive reaction to the respondent’s PrEP use, were positively and moderately to strongly associated with intention. At the community level, descriptive norms, thinking more peers use PrEP, were positively and weakly associated with intention. While self-comparison to peers, estimating one’s own sexual behaviour as safer than peers, was negatively and weakly associated with intention. Conclusion: All norm types included in the analysis, at the individual level (attitude and role belief), interpersonal level (injunctive norms), and the community level (descriptive norms and self-comparison to peers), were associated with PrEP-intention among MSM. Most PrEP interventions target cognition, while our analysis shows significant untapped potential for norm-based interventions to increase intention to use PrEP.

The COVID-19 crisis gave rise to measures such as physical distancing, sheltering in place, and social bubbles that impacted sexual lives profoundly. One group particularly badly impacted by COVID-19 containment, and at risk of sexual and mental health consequences as a result, comprised gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men -- many of whom were more likely to live alone, to have had multiple partners before the epidemic, and some of whom were lacking in peer support for their mental health. This study investigated how members of this group living in Flanders (Belgium) experienced sex and sexuality during the COVID-19 epidemic. We conducted 29 in-depth interviews with gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men who practised consensual nonmonogamy and/or sociosexuality, and used reflexive thematic analysis to analyse the data. Interviewees provided a nuanced and emotionally resonant account of sex as a pathway to intimacy, rather than just a physical act. In their descriptions, Intimacy was framed as a protective factor against the mental health challenges exacerbated by pandemic isolation.

The burden of type-2 diabetes (T2D) and hypertension (HTN) in Cambodia is a major concern. The government and donors have introduced several interventions, yet human resource shortages hamper their implementation. Community health workers (CHWs) can be a valuable additional resource for health in T2D and HTN management. The current study aimed to assess (1) CHWs’ knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) in T2D and HTN management and (2) the potential health system barriers for incorporating CHWs in T2D and HTN management. This mixed-method study comprised a survey among 153 active CHWs to assess their KAP towards T2D and HTN, and semi-structured interviews with key informants were conducted to understand the challenges of the health system and propose solutions in incorporating CHWs in T2D and HTN management. Approximately 90% of CHWs correctly answered general knowledge questions on NCDs, risk factors, and prevention; however, only around 20–40% correctly answered questions on family history or tobacco use as risk factors. Most respondents appeared to have positive attitudes and have been practicing some activities related to T2D and HTN. Both financial and non-financial resource constraints were cited as challenges of the health system; therefore, re-structuring the definition of CHWs’ roles and responsibilities, and assessing the need and workload have been proposed as ways forward to effectively incorporate CHWs in T2D and HTN care. CHWs in Cambodia have shown their potential in T2D and HTN management; however, a well-designed strategy, including technical training, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and strong support structure, is important to maximize their potential in the health system.

The prevalence of hypertension (HTN) of adults aged ≥ 40 years in Cambodia was high (35.2%) in 2020 and only one-third achieved well-cont

Objective: Men grappling with infertility often face emotional distress due to stigma and masculinity norms. Social support is vital in coping with infertility, and with the rise of digital health, much of it has shifted online. However, Dutch-speaking online infertility support groups (OISGs) remain unexplored, especially regarding male support inclusion. Existing research focuses on message content, offering limited insight into user demographics and usage patterns. Men's online support experiences are largely unexplored, and studies rarely examine online and offline networks together, despite their combined importance for support and wellbeing. This study addresses these gaps through three objectives: (1) explore the availability of Dutch- speaking OISGs and their inclusion of male-specific support; (2) map characteristics of male users and their usage of OISGs; and (3) understand how men experience online versus offline infertility support, and what factors shape their use. Methods: A multistage mixed-method design was used in Flanders and the Netherlands, comprising three sequential components: (1) an environmental scan; (2) an online survey; and (3) online semi-structured interviews. Results: Findings show that Dutch OISGs are scarce and male-specific support is not self-evident. Users are predominantly higher-SES, indicating selective access. Freya is the most used platform, with sustained but varied usage. Men's engagement is shaped by an interplay of digital and psychosocial factors, with perceived anonymity acting as a paradox. Online and offline infertility support are experienced as complementary, fulfilling different needs. The core distinction lies in the nature of relationships, peer versus intimate, rather than the medium. Support needs are dynamic across both settings. Conclusion: These insights underscore the need for more, inclusive, and tailored support strategies that address the dynamic needs of men navigating infertility in both online and offline contexts.

Introduction: We built Cascades of Care (CoC) for hypertension in Belgium, Slovenia and Cambodia, and assessed CoC stratifications across patients’ gender and socioeconomic status. Differences between the CoCs were studied by looking at the level of implementation of the integrated care package and other health system characteristics. Methods: A mixed methods design: Age-standardized gender-specific hypertension cascades were built from survey and register data and logistic regression analyses were performed. Focus group discussions with experts were used to interpret these results. Results: In Belgium, the largest gap is between ‘prevalence’ and ‘diagnosis’. In Cambodia, a large drop –especially among men– is found at the beginning and the end of the cascade. In Slovenia, only a limited number of patients is tested and linked to care, but once registered, attrition is quite low. Poor financial situation was a significant determinant of drop-out across the countries but at different stages of the CoC, and especially in Cambodia large gender differences were observed with women being better retained throughout the CoC. Discussion and conclusion: Despite contextual differences between the countries and difficulties in comparability of the cascades, lessons can be learnt from each country’s strengths and weaknesses to improve quality of integrated hypertension care.

Background: Obtaining a representative sample is a substantial challenge when undertaking health research among hidden and hard-to-reach populations such as men who have sex with men Web-based respondent-driven sampling (WEB RDS) was developed to overcome such sampling challenges and to create population estimates based on network and sampling characteristics. Despite a decade of research, it remains unclear whether WEB RDS is suitable for sampling hidden populations such as men who have sex with men. Objective: This study aims to evaluate how viable the WEB RDS methodology is for obtaining a nationwide sample of men who have sex with men, suitable for population inference of sexual health characteristics, in Belgium. Methods: We adapted the Medical Resource Council process evaluation framework for interventions, to evaluate an empirical WEB RDS. Viewing “WEB RDS” as a complex intervention with respondent-driven recruitment as the aim, we evaluated indicators of context, implementation, mechanisms of impact, and performance. We analyzed the data using a mixed methods approach that integrated findings from quantitative analysis, such as RDS diagnostics, and qualitative thematic analysis. Results: Sampling did not reach a sufficient sample size (n=193) to compensate for an RDS design effect of 3 and the number of recruitment waves was low (waves=7). A visual examination of the convergence and bottleneck plots indicates that many more waves of recruitment would be needed for population estimates to become independent of the seeds. However, producing further waves was impeded by challenges inherent to the research context and process. Men who have sex with men and their community organization representatives indicated that, in Belgium, men who have sex with men are overresearched, with low motivation for the topic of sexual health and digital etiquette dictating not sharing survey links. A moderate reward of €10-€30 (US $11.2-$33.6) with a dual incentive structure was insufficient to overcome these barriers. Conclusions: This study indicates that WEB RDS, even with a moderate incentive, is not a viable sampling strategy for obtaining valid population estimates of sexual health traits of men who have sex with men in Belgium. The study emphasizes the need to understand men who have sex with men research motivation and topic saliency. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of digital etiquette. Finally, the study showcases the use of the adapted Medical Research Council framework for evaluating WEB RDS methodology.