Zijie Yang ¹ lan wei ² zhongliang xu ² simei li ³ yiwen xing ¹ yan zhang ² yuan yuan ⁴ shaochu liu ² wei xie ² wei tan ² wei Ye ⁵ jingguang tan ² xiangdong shi ² xiangyu yan ² tiejian feng ² zhongwei Jia ¹ Jin zhao ^2*

• ¹ Peking University, Beijing, China
• ² Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
• ³ Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
• ⁴ Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
• ⁵ Nanshan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shenzhen, China

Background Seeking sexual partners in MSM venues has been regarded as a high-risk behavior for HIV among MSM.Nevertheless, with the implementation of venue-based interventions and the change of the way MSM seeking sexual partners, the continued status of MSM venues as a HIV risk factor remains inconclusive. This study endeavors to delve into this ambiguity by examining the MSM sexual contact network as a foundation.Methods A series of cross-sectional surveys were conducted in Shenzhen in 2010-2022. MSM sexual contact network and venue network were acquired, network metrics were employed to identify core MSM and core venues. The risk of HIV and risk behaviors among MSM who had sought sexual partners in core venues was compared to those who had not, with subgroup analyses stratified by temporal periods. had soughtThe overall HIV prevalence of the 4408 MSM surveyed was 14.6%. 17 core venues were identified out of 68 reported MSM venues, with 1,486 MSM had sought sexual partners in core venues. These MSM had significantly higher risk of HIV, and were more likely to take HIV testing and receive intervention services. Subgroup analyses showed that the heightened HIV risk associated with seeking partners in core venues was specific to the 2010-2014, while HIV testing and service access remained consistently higher across all year subgroups. Multiple sexual partners, seeking partners in core venues, receptive or both sexual roles, drug abuse, absence of HIV test, UAI and lower education levels were associated with elevated HIV risk among MSM.Conclusions Following the implementation of differentiated venue-based interventions, the risk of HIV among MSM who had sought sexual partners in core venues decreased to a level comparable to that of MSM who had not. The accessibility of HIV testing and intervention services remains uneven between MSM who had sought sexual partners in core venues and those who had not. As internet sex-seeking behavior gains prevalence among MSM, strategic adjustments of public health resource allocation may be necessary to address this imbalance.