Men who have sex with men experience low anxiety and few barriers to performing anal self or companion examinations: a qualitative study of the Prevent Anal Cancer Palpation Study.
Rey A Flores, J Michael Wilkerson, Andrew Travis, Ellen Almirol, DeJuan Washington, Lou Weaver, Cameron Liebert, Elizabeth Chiao, Aniruddha Hazra, Alan G Nyitray
Author Information
Rey A Flores: Department of Family and Community Medicine, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
J Michael Wilkerson: Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Science, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Andrew Travis: Chicago Center for HIV Elimination, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Ellen Almirol: Chicago Center for HIV Elimination, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
DeJuan Washington: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Lou Weaver: MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA.
Cameron Liebert: Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
Elizabeth Chiao: MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA.
Aniruddha Hazra: Chicago Center for HIV Elimination, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Alan G Nyitray: Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
While rare in the larger population, anal cancer incidence is significantly higher in groups such as sexual minority men and people living with HIV. This qualitative analysis examined participants' experiences and perceptions of barriers to anal self-examination and anal companion examination through interviews completed as a part of a larger clinical trial. Interviews were conducted online with participants ( = 131) within a week of their baseline appointment between January 2020 and October 2021. Content analysis denoted participants' thoughts and perceptions about anal self-examination and anal companion examinations. Of the 131 cisgender men interviewed (mean age 49.9 years, 12.7), 92.4% identified as gay, 54.9% identified as white, 22.1% identified as Black, 19.9% identified as Latino, and 44.3% of participants were living with HIV. Participants did not report feelings of excessive anxiety when an abnormality was detected. However, three salient themes emerged as to why participants may not perform an anal self-examination or anal companion examination: (1) physical limitation(s), (2) potential sexualisation of the examination, and (3) level of comfort discussing anal health. Future work must continue to explore methods that not only decrease stigma surrounding anal health but also bolster feelings of accessibility to perform self and couple examinations.
