Utilization of Mental Health Counseling Services Among Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Malaysia.

This paper examines the frequency of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and factors associated with mental health counseling utilization among adult refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia. Participants (n = 286) were recruited using venue-based random sampling from three health clinics in 2018. Framed by Andersen's model of health care utilization, we used a multilevel logistic regression and hypothesized that predisposing factors (female, older age, not married, higher education, lived longer in Malaysia, registered refugee), greater enabling factors (easy access to healthcare, larger household income, not needing interpreter, health literacy, larger household), and greater need factors (higher PTSD symptoms) would be associated with counseling attendance.

Privacy and Confidentiality Concerns Related to the Use of mHealth Apps for HIV Prevention Efforts Among Malaysian Men Who Have Sex With Men: Cross-sectional Survey Study.

Background: The use of mobile health (mHealth), including smartphone apps, can improve the HIV prevention cascade for key populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM). In Malaysia, where stigma and discrimination toward MSM are high, the mHealth platform has the potential to open new frontiers for HIV prevention efforts. However, little guidance is available to inform researchers about privacy and confidentiality concerns unique to the development and implementation of app-based HIV prevention programs.

Race, trust, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in people with opioid use disorder.

Objective: Vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a promising avenue for arresting the COVID-19 pandemic, yet suboptimal rates of vaccine uptake in at-risk groups may hinder efficacy and worsen existing health disparities. People with opioid use disorder (OUD) are likely to face increased vulnerability to COVID-19 due to a confluence of biological and social risk factors. We sought to assess factors associated with willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 in people with OUD.

Awareness about and willingness to use long-acting injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (LAI-PrEP) among people who use drugs.

In the Bangkok Tenofovir Study of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP; TDF/FTC), adherence was poor. Long-acting injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (LAI-PrEP) for HIV prevention may help overcome adherence challenges and is currently being tested in clinical trials, but not in people who use drugs (PWUD), an important key population that remains highly vulnerable to HIV. Since PWUD are not currently included in trials of LAI-PrEP, we sought to examine awareness about LAI-PrEP and factors associated with willingness to use LAI-PrEP in this understudied population.