Messaging Gay Men About STIs

posted: 07/04/2011

Manchester gay and bi men using the Royal Infirmary's Hathersage Clinic (along with men using STI clinics in Sheffield, Brighton and at four London STI clinics) now have a new way to warn partners they may have been in contact with a sexually transmitted infection.

The Sexual Health Messaging Service has just begun, launched by GMFA, the gay men’s health charity, and is linked in with the popular gay profile sites Fitlads, Gaydar, Manhunt and Recon, and the cruising app Bender.

Men need to Opt-in for notifications  if they get an invitation, for it to work.

It's funded by the Elton John AIDS Foundation and aims to help cut the number of men with undiagnosed STIs, including HIV. Men who are diagnosed with an STI can tell previous sexual partners by using an online system (anonymously if prefered), so the partners can go and get tested and, if necessary, treated.
 

99% want to know about any STIs

Over a quarter of gay men with HIV do not know they have HIV. GMFA’s study shows that the vast majority of gay men (99.3%) want to be told if any sexual partner gets an STI and 97.5% want to be told if this is HIV.
 

Matthew Hodson of GMFA, commented: “Many STIs don’t show any symptoms, so lots of men may be infected and not know it. While it’s best to tell men you’ve had sex with if you find out you’ve picked up an STI, making that awkward phone call or sending an email can be difficult. As a result, some men choose not to tell, even though they know they should. We’ve made the process as easy as possible by doing most of the work for you – all you need is a contact for your partners and we’ll take care of the rest.”
 

An easy (even anonymous) way to tell

Existing ways of telling partners often require anyone who is diagnosed with an STI to contact their partners direct, sometimes using a pink slip issued by the clinic. GMFA’s research shows these systems often don’t work.

For all kinds of reasons some men can't or won't notify sexual partners. Of the men who do tell partners about having an STI or HIV, only 65% told all their partners. Here's some of the difficulties and reasons for this

• not having partners’ contact details (sometimes only a first name, or only a profile name)
• embarrassment
• not wanting the partner to know about their having an STI or HIV 
• not wanting to see the guy again.

Now men using the Hathersage in Manchester, men in Brighton, Sheffield and parts of London can use GMFA’s new Sexual Health Messaging Service. It  will then be spread across the rest of London later this year and then the rest of the country next year. 

The GMFA service means clinics give men a unique reference number so they can log in to the online system and send notifications using a number of contact methods, including

• website profile name
• cruising app profile name
• mobile 
• email.

The message is automatically written and contains links to where their partners can go for testing. While men are encouraged to say who they are, it can be kept anonymous.

The service started its six-month pilot on Monday. The clinics taking part are

• In Manchester, the Hathersage Centre (Upper Brook Street / Hathersage Road corner) 
• In Sheffield, the Royal Hallamshire Hospital
• Brighton, Claude Nicol Centre at Royal Sussex County Hospital
• 56 Dean Street, Soho, London,
• Homerton University Hospital, London
• The Lloyd Clinic at Guy’s Hospital, London
• St Bartholemew’s Hospital, London 

Men can use the service to send messages to partners met through the four participating gay dating websites (Fitlads, Gaydar, Manhunt and Recon) and the cruising app, Bender.

Opt-in to take part 

Profile site members need to opt-in to receive notifications if and when they are sent an invite.
 

Matthew of GMFA tells us: “This is a major project and marks a huge shift in the way men can notify their partners about STIs they’ve picked up. By making the process easy, we hope to make more men aware of any STIs they may have and ultimately reduce the number of STI infections in the community.”

HIV Healthcare Training Online

posted: 03/03/2011

HIV and STI doctors and other healthcare staff have an engaging and extensive online learning programme called eHIV-STI. This e-training has been put together by the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians. Keeping HIV clinic staff well trained is an important part of good HIV care.
 

This eHIV-STI training provides the knowledge healthcare professionals need for treating and supporting people with sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and related conditions. It’s designed to be used alongside clinic training.
 

3 knowledge levels

They provide training to three levels of knowledge, from introductory, to more advanced and finally specialist knowledge, so people can learn in stages.
 

The 60 sessions of e-learning with video clips and case studies cover most of what HIV and STI clinic staff need to know. The training is open for doctors and NHS healthcare staff in England who register with the site.
 

HIV & STI e-Learning for Healthcare

GP Guide - Migrants' Health

posted: 26/01/2011

The Migrant Health Guide is a free new online “one stop information shop” for GPs and practice nurses who are working with migrants.

It comes from the Health Protection Agency who have produced it because migrants health needs are often more complex than for other people. HIV is included.

The online guide gives doctors and nurses easy access to the facts, so they can improve their patients’ care and quality of life.
 

Although most migrants to the UK are healthy, TB and HIV and other conditions are more common.

The guide supports diagnosing and managing a range of typical migrant health conditions. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment of HIV and other conditions is important for the health of the individual and to reduce onward transmission.
 

Produced by experts working with primary care practitioners, it comes with the blessings of the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Nursing.

Key Recommendations

• Know your local migrant population and their rights to care
• Teach patients how the NHS works
• Assess new patients using the checklist and their country page
• Vaccinate and immunise as normal
• Watch and test for infectious diseases and conditions typical of their country
• Check and advise on any plans to visit friends and relatives abroad.

The Migrant Health Guide has

• detailed information for each country
• tools for assessing migrant patients – new patients, patients with symptoms, identifying more vulnerable patients
• how to talking about the NHS with migrants – explaining it, migrants rights to treatment, languages and interpreters, cultural awareness
• sections about migrant health conditions (including HIV), infectious diseases, vaccinations

Migrant Health Guide

HIV in Primary Care : The best HIV guide for GPs and primary care is (free download) HIV for non-specialists, by MedFash.

Gay and Positive Support Online

posted: 01/03/2010

Terrence Higgins Trust runs a regular online support group for gay men living with HIV on gaydar.com. Here, positive men can talk to other men with HIV, share experiences of life with HIV, get support and answers to questions around HIV or sexual health.

If there's no convenient support group for HIV+ gay men in your area, or getting to a group is too much, this could be a very useful way to meet and talk with other positive gay men, and to find answers to your questions from well trained staff.

THT online staff offer confidential, non-judgemental support and information. As it's on gaydar you can chat publicly and send private messages like normal, but in the group you can also message THT workers to ask for information, advice and help.

Online groups can be useful to anyone whether you are newly diagnosed or you have lived with HIV for years.


Group date : Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday evenings
At gaydar, log in, then click on chat rooms and search for the community room calledTHT - HIV+ Groupwork chat room

The THT - HIV+ Groupwork chat room is open on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening from 5.30pm to 8pm.
 

People living with HIV in Northwest England can ask George House Trust for advice and information online

Gaydar Group for Men with HIV

posted: 03/02/2009

Terrence Higgins Trust and Gaydar now offer an online support group for gay men living with HIV. THT staff will be in Gaydar’s ‘THT HIV+ Groupwork’ chatroom from 5.30 to 8.30pm three evenings a week, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday until the end of March. From April it is likely to be staffed two evenings a week.

The online group means men can talk online to other men with HIV, share experiences of life with HIV, get support and answers to questions around HIV or sexual health. If there is no convenient support group for HIV+ gay men in your local area, this could be a very useful way to meet and talk with other positive gay men, and to get answers from THT staff to your questions.

THT staff offer confidential, non-judgemental support and information on HIV. As well as chatting publicly, men will be able to send private messages, as usual, but also to the THT workers, for specific information, advice and help.

Online support useful for HIV positive men from Burnley and Blackburn, to Birkenhead, Buxton and Buttermere

We think it could be very helpful for gay HIV+ men who live outside easy reach of HIV+ gay men's support groups, such as for men from Burnley and Blackburn, to Birkenhead, Buxton and Buttermere. Although the group is aimed at gay men in London, men from NorthWest England are welcome to use this for support from other positive gay men, or from the THT staff. We have confirmed this with Gordon at THT who runs the group.

Like everything on gaydar you first need to register and log in, and then go to the 'THT HIV+ Groupwork’ chatroom. THT staff are there on the evenings and times above but also post messages in some other groups to say they are there working, such as London cruising rooms and the group sex room, but THT don't leave messages in Manchester or other regional rooms.

Men should be aware that no-one (including you) is screened to check their HIV status before they enter the chatroom. And anything you say that is not in a private message to another person, is not really private. But like most chatrooms it can be a really good way to find expert answers, make new friends, and ask for and give support and advice from others in the same sort of situation.

Gordon Mundie, who runs groupwork at THT said "Online groupwork could be useful to anyone with HIV whether they're newly diagnosed or have lived with it for years. It gives men the opportunity to have an anonymous chat with people in a similar situation, or ask questions about anything from HIV treatment to sex. If you're interested, pop in and join the conversation."

Simon Johnson, Marketing Manager at Gaydar said "We hope that members of Gaydar will use the new online THT HIV+ Groupwork service, it's the first of its kind. We know Gay men are more likely to talk openly and seek advice online, and this service helps facilitate just that."

George House Trust offers services for gay men living with HIV across NorthWest England. To find out how we can help, call our services team on 0161 274 4499 or email support@ght.org.uk or visit www.ght.org.uk

Gaydar