Social Studies of Public Health

We trace the crafting of expert narratives during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and the United States. By expert narratives, we refer to how experts drew different lessons from past disease experiences in order to guide policymakers and the public amidst uncertainty. These expert narratives were mobilized in different sociopolitical contexts, resulting in varying configurations of expertise networks and allies that helped contain and mitigate COVID-19. In Mainland China, experts carefully advanced a managed narrative, emphasizing the new pandemic akin to the 2003 SARS outbreak can be managed while destressing the similar mistakes the government made during the two crises. In Hong Kong, experts invoked a distrust narrative, pointing to a potential coverup of COVID-19 similar to SARS, activating allies in civil society to pressure policymakers to act. In the United States, experts were mired in a contested narrative and COVID-19 was compared to different diseases; varying interpretations of COVID-19’s consequences was exacerbated by political polarization. In expert narratives, the resonance of the past is emergent: the past becomes a site of struggle and a cultural object that is presented as potentially useful in solving problems of the present. 

Surveillance is never only about surveillance but is embedded in the broader social context, both domestically and internationally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the surveillance practices of non-Western countries have often been analyzed from the perspective of the West, impacting domestic surveillance policymaking and public perception. However, we rarely know how Western societies’ surveillance practices and discourses may impact how people in non-Western societies understand their own domestic surveillance. Combining data from varied sources, this article examines domestic surveillance during COVID-19 in China and explores how Chinese residents perceive it, with a focus on perceptions that are in relation to the West.

Public health scholars classify gay men as “men who have sex with men (MSM)” in their studies and interventions. Debates have been raised about the MSM classification for decades. However, we know little about how people who are classified as MSM perceive and respond to this classification, particularly in the authoritarian context where the biopower interacts with the repressive state power. Drawing upon Ian Hacking’s dynamic nominalism theory, this study tries to fill these gaps with interviews of 40 gay men in three Chinese cities about their interactions with public health education materials. I examined their perceptions of MSM knowledge and discourses associated with the classification, as well as their identifications to the MSM subject. I found that, on the one hand, many gay men had internalized the MSM subjectivity and considered themselves essentially at high risk of HIV infection. This compliance was constructed through various biopower techniques with the support of the state’s repressive power, as the Chinese state censored almost all public representations of gay men except the HIV/AIDS subject MSM. On the other hand, some of my interviewees were resistant to be part of the MSM classification. I showed how this failure is an unintended consequence of the hegemonic MSM discourse and the authoritarian regime’s institutional exclusion of the gay men’s community’s engagement in the expertise network that develops intervention materials and strategies. At last, I proposed to move beyond the debate around the name and representational character of the MSM by moving toward a more reflexive public health.

Stakeholder engagement is increasingly recognized and institutionalized as an essential component of HIV-related biomedical research. However, we know little about stakeholder engagement’s social outcomes, i.e. its influence on the community it engages with, particularly in authoritarian regimes and outside high-income countries. This study evaluates a multi-site stakeholder engagement programme conducted in parallel with two HIV prevention trials among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. We conducted a one-month ethnographic study and 41 semi-structured in-depth interviews with participants of a stakeholder engagement programme and/or clinical trials in six Chinese cities. We found that the stakeholder engagement programme offers MSM community stakeholders additional and flexible funding, networking opportunities, activities to increase clinical research literacy, and may strengthen their connections with the community. However, they may also generate negative unintended consequences. It may cost community stakeholders’ social capital, increase moral conflicts and tensions, and even create tension between their ‘community representative’ and ‘research assistant’ identities. Our findings suggest that structured stakeholder engagement practice could effectively mitigate negative outcomes generated by such engagement. The broader socio-political structure in which a trial is embedded requires more attention and consideration from trial funders and sponsors, particularly in stakeholder engagement programme design.

Introduction: Migration of men who have sex with men (MSM) from rural to urban areas is common across low‐ and middle‐income countries and is widely believed to contribute to elevated HIV risk among migrant MSM in urban areas. Little consensus exists on whether their risk is due to their transplantation or their being from resource‐constrained rural areas. This study seeks to clarify the relationship between migration and HIV risks by comparing differences in HIV‐related risky sexual behaviours and healthcare utilization across competing conceptualizations of migratory statuses.

Methods: In July 2016, MSM ≥16 years old currently residing in one of eight urban cities in China were recruited for an online cross‐sectional survey, which collected information on socio‐demographics, sexual behaviours, HIV care‐seeking behaviours, and healthcare utilization. Based on a question about residency status, each participant was classified as an urban local resident, urban transplant, or rural transplant. Multivariable multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the associations between risky behaviours and healthcare utilization among these three groups.

Results: Among 2007 MSM, the proportion of local, urban transplant and rural transplant were 32% (648/2007), 24% (478/2007), and 44% (881/2007), respectively. Compared with urban local resident MSM, urban transplant MSM were more likely to have ever tested for HIV (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.39, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08 to 1.80). Compared with urban transplant MSM, rural transplant MSM were less likely to have utilized any governmental sexual health services in the past three months (aOR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.60 to 0.93), ever tested for HIV (aOR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.61 to 0.96), ever initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART) (aOR = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.52), and ever purchased sex (aOR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.38 to 0.85). No other significant differences were found in sexual behaviours among three groups.

Conclusions: The widely used local/migrant categorization obscures important differences in HIV risk present between urban/rural subgroups among them. Previous studies of HIV risks in Chinese “migrant” may have failed to consider the role of structural factors such as discrimination or barriers to healthcare when interpreting their findings of higher HIV prevalence in this population. Low ART uptake among rural transplant MSM in this study is particularly concerning and underscore the need for HIV‐related interventions tailored for this group.

Introduction: HIV and syphilis testing rates remain low among men who have sex with men (MSM) in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). Community engagement has been increasingly used to promote HIV testing among key populations in high‐income countries, often in settings with stronger civil society. This study aimed to assess socio‐demographic, behavioural, and community engagement factors associated with HIV and syphilis testing among MSM in China.

Methods: MSM ≥16 years old who had condomless sex in the past three months were recruited nationwide to complete a cross‐sectional online survey in November 2015. Data were collected on socio‐demographics, sexual behaviours, HIV testing, syphilis testing, and community engagement in sexual health. We defined community engagement in sexual health using six items assessing awareness and advocacy of sexual health programmes. The underlying factor structure of a 6‐item community engagement scale was determined through exploratory factor analysis. Univariate and multivariable logistic regressions identified correlates of HIV and syphilis testing.

Results: 1189 MSM were recruited. 54% (647/1189) of men had ever tested for HIV and 30% (354/1189) had ever tested for syphilis. Factor analysis suggested three levels of community engagement (minimal, moderate, and substantial) and this model explained 79.5% of observed variance. A quarter (26%, 312/1189) reported none to minimal engagement, over one half (54%, 644/1189) reported moderate engagement, and a fifth (20%, 233/1189) reported substantial engagement. Multivariable logistic regression showed that MSM with greater community engagement in sexual health were more likely to have ever tested for HIV (substantial vs. no engagement: aOR 7.91, 95% CI 4.98–12.57) and for syphilis (substantial vs. no engagement: aOR 5.35, 95% CI 3.16–9.04).

Conclusions: HIV and syphilis testing are suboptimal among MSM in China. Community engagement may be useful for promoting testing in China and should be considered in intervention development and delivery. Further research is needed to better understand the role of LMIC community engagement in HIV interventions.