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Table 2 Major themes and subthemes

From: Exploring the attitudes of men who have sex with men on anal self-examination for early detection of primary anorectal syphilis: a qualitative study

Major themes

Subthemes

Number of participants (N = 20)

1. Reasons for performing anal self-examination

Health concerns (anal cancer screening, screening for anal pathologies and STI, medical treatment, being anal health conscious)

17

Hygiene/cleaning

3

Sexual stimulation/masturbation

6

2. Preferred educational resources for anal self-examination

Self-learning through online resources or self-practice

10

Learning through healthcare professionals and trusted organizations (Thorne Harbour Health, Melbourne Sexual Health Centre)

10

3. Attitudes towards partner anal examination

Willing to have partner anal examination if in a trusted or stable relationship

10

Not comfortable with partner anal examination

10

4. Acceptability of anal self-examination

Acceptable to perform regular anal self- examination if recommended by a health professional

10

Open to perform anal self-examination when proven effective

4

Already performing regular anal self-examination for health concerns

6

Preference for a health professional performing anal examination rather than self-examination

7

Challenges of anal self-examination as a means for syphilis detection

6

  1. Some subthemes might not add up to total 20 as multiple subthemes can be elicited from an individual participant