Page 26 - IJPS-10-4

International Journal of
Population Studies Chemsex among MSM during the COVID-19 pandemic

chemsex. “Co” or “Context” referred to a comparison of 2.3. Characteristics of the identified studies and
behaviors before and during the pandemic among MSM data mapping
partaking in chemsex and those who did not. Keywords When selecting studies for this review, 1,383 articles were
within each category were joined using the Boolean initially identified using subject headings. After removing
operator “OR,” while separate categories were linked duplicates using Endnote 20, 792 studies remained for
using “AND.” The authors conducted a search of existing consideration. The authors then screened the titles and
pieces of literature across several databases, including abstracts simultaneously, resulting in the exclusion of an
Scopus, Semantic Scholar, PubMed, Google Scholar, additional 385 studies. Exclusion reasons encompassed
ScienceDirect, ProQuest, ThaiJo, and ThaiLIS, to review a lack of information on chemsex among MSM amid the
pertinent articles related to the research topic. The search pandemic, no information on the COVID-19 pandemic,
terms incorporated keywords and MeSH terms such as failure to determine the pandemic’s influence on chemsex
“chemsex,” “sexualized drug use,” “men who have sex with behavior, irrelevant study types, and unavailability of the
men,” “COVID-19,” and “pandemic.” After searching these full text. Following applying these exclusion criteria, 21
databases, the citations and references were collected and relevant studies were included in this review.
inputted into Endnote 20, a bibliography management
software program. Duplicated citations and references A significant proportion of the studies adopted a cross-
were then eliminated by the program. The literature search sectional design (n = 20 [95.24%]), whereas one study was
strategy also involved analyzing keywords, titles, and qualitative (n = 1 [4.76%]). These studies encompassed
abstracts of the literature, followed by a full-text review research from 14 distinct nations. Notably, the United
performed independently by at least two reviewers. The States of America (USA) was represented in four of the
reviewers categorized the literature as relevant, irrelevant, studies as a data-collecting country (n = 4 [18.18%]).
or possibly relevant. In cases where the two reviewers Five countries, namely Australia, Brazil, Canada, the
could not agree on the categorization, the publication was People’s Republic of China, and Portugal, contributed two
referred to a third reviewer for additional consideration. studies each (n = 10 [45.45%]). The remaining countries,
The selection procedure is illustrated in Figure 1. After including Belgium, France, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, the
completing the selection process and final evaluation of Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, were
the retrieved literature, 21 articles were included in this each represented by one study (n = 8 [36.40%]). A clearer
literature review. overview of the identified data is provided in Table 1 below.

2.2. Eligibility criteria Moreover, a summary of the data extraction process,
focused on extracting data from the included articles, is
The following criteria were used to determine the eligibility shown in Table 2 below. This table provides a closer look at
of articles for inclusion in this review: the mapping, analysis, and synthesis of findings from the
(i) The peer-reviewed literature should include clinical included studies.
trials, controlled trials, randomized controlled
trials, quasi-experimental studies, descriptive 3. Key findings
research, qualitative studies, and cross-sectional As previously mentioned, after carefully considering
studies addressing sexualized drug use or chemsex the inclusion and exclusion criteria set for this narrative
behaviors. Specifically, the focus was on the use review, 21 articles were included in the review process. The
of methamphetamine, mephedrone, GHB/GHL, results of this narrative review encompassed various topics,
cocaine, and ketamine before or in conjunction with such as the involved countries, study designs, sample sizes,
sexual activity among males engaged in homosexual chemsex trends, sexual behaviors, drug usage issues,
relations amid the COVID-19 pandemic mental health issues, accessibility to health-care services,
(ii) Comprehensive analysis based on full-text article health disparity issues, digital health technologies used to
availability offer care, and health-care interventions or measures.
(iii) Consideration was given to both published and
unpublished pieces of work in English or Thai, released 3.1. Trends of sexualized drug use or chemsex
between December 1, 2019, and August 1, 2023. practices among men who have sex with men during
The exclusion criteria were focused on empirical studies the pandemic
unrelated to sexualized drug usage among individuals This section describes the evolving patterns of drug-
during the pandemic. Other literature types, such as letters involved sexual activity within this group of men amid the
to editors, commentaries, and general comments, were global COVID-19 health emergency. The patterns were
also excluded. found to vary across global continents and social contexts.

Volume 10 Issue 4 (2024) 20 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2599