Table 3 Example quotes around reasons for anal self-examination (Theme 1)
Reason for performing anal self-examination | Quote |
|---|---|
Health concerns | |
STI concerns | “I will clean the area thoroughly, I might, you know put my finger up there a little bit, washing out with soap and everything normal on a daily basis, usually I don’t notice any problem. But the couple of times that I have noticed chancre before, they are easily noticeable, it’s not like they are so deep that I can’t notice casually. It is very easy for me to tell something if they shouldn’t be there.” —Participant 1, living with HIV |
STI concerns | “I previously got what felt like a urinary tract infection, which turned out to be chlamydia and gonorrhoea in the bum. At that time, I did check it out and something didn’t feel right,…. It just felt kind of hot and inflamed sort of. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t find out what it was.” —Participant 17, not living with HIV and taking PrEP |
Sexual stimulation/masturbation | “I guess when I’m just sort of playing around on my own, I would sometimes stimulate that area. So, I kind of somewhat feel like I know what would be normal and not normal feel wise.” —Participant 11, living with HIV |
Hygiene/cleaning | “Pretty much every week, because again, when I’m trimming and grooming and stuff, you’re always quite close, so I would notice if something was abnormal.” —Participant 4, not living with HIV and taking PrEP |