Testing In European Gay Sex Survey

posted: 26/01/2011

In June we asked gay and bi men to take part in the first Europe-wide web survey of HIV and sexual health risks and needs. Thank you to all who joined in.The first report is out now; it became the world’s largest survey of gay and bi men. 180,000+ gay and bi men took part and 10% were from the UK – 18,400 men.
 

Behind on testing
The UK has Europe’s fastest growth in HIV but the survey tells us gay men in many other countries are testing more often. More men tested in over a dozen countries last year than in the UK, including men in Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Russian men.
 

Two out of three gay and bi men in the UK haven’t had a HIV test in the last year as recommended. And around 1 in 3 UK gay and bi men have never taken a HIV test.
 

When did you test?

If you are a gay or bi man who has not been diagnosed with HIV, when was the last time you had a HIV test? Annual HIV tests make sense in NW England because around 1 in 10 men on the local scene have HIV, with about one third of those with HIV not knowing this.
 

Half the men who have never had a HIV test are convinced they don’t have HIV – but we know for sure some men are wrong about this. Most untested men think they probably don’t have HIV but some are not sure, and a few haven’t tested yet, even though they think they probably have HIV.
 

I Did It campaign

A national testing campaign is now running across England using outdoor, online and gay press adverts. The I Did It campaign believes men are more likely to take a HIV test if they hear positive things from other men about testing, whatever the result.

There's a new website to inspire and encourage men through hearing other men’s test stories. It has a handy local clinic finder, and men can come back and tell their own HIV test story.

Clips of positive men talking
Aside from men’s HIV test stories and the clinic finder, the website has key facts about HIV tests, a discussion forum for men to talk about testing, videos of positive men talking about receiving a positive test result, and information on the support available for men who test HIV positive.

G.A.Y. founder Jeremy Joseph has just taken a HIV test and talks about his own test result in PinkNews

Testing information and clinic finder THIVK - Test, Take Control

I Did It

The full European Sex Survey report will be out In September 2011. You can find more about the survey here

And the results are published here

UK reports dealing with HIV testing among gay and bi men:

Tactical Dangers – report of UK’s Gay Men’s Sex Survey 2008

Testing Targets – report of UK’s Gay Men’s Sex Survey 2007

Gay Men's Sex Survey

posted: 15/12/2010

A new report Tactical dangers: findings from the United Kingdom Gay Men's Sex Survey 2008 has appeared. It used online and booklet survey information from almost 7,500 gay and bi men in the UK. About 1 in 10 of those who took part live in NW England including through the George House Trust website.
 

The report has a wealth of detail and includes chapters on HIV infection and testing, and sexual behaviour and transmission risks.
 

The report gives us critical information to guide HIV prevention priorities and messages.

Testing a priority in the North West

We know for example that testing rates are rising but still under half of all gay men are taking their annual HIV test. Annual HIV tests should now be a habit for every gay man. 27% of NW men in the survey have never had a HIV test. Another 57% of the region's gay men have tested, but not in the last 12 months. We know some of these men have HIV.
 

The North West and London had the highest number of HIV diagnoses in the year of this survey and have the highest proportion of men with HIV in the UK. This means the region needs to be a HIV prevention action hotspot. This is what the report recommends.
 

Poppers risks
The report tells us dozens of other useful things like:

• most men do not know that using poppers during unprotected anal sex raises the risk of HIV infection by three times – a useful nugget on page 33.
   

Information from aidsmap.com / NAM on poppers risks

Aidsmap reporting on Tactical Dangers

The report is free 
Tactical dangers: findings from the United Kingdom Gay Men's Sex Survey 2008

Domestic Abuse Attitudes

posted: 15/11/2010

Domestic abuse harms many people as well as wider society. People living with HIV are affected by domestic violence as much as any other people in society. The Greater Manchester domestic abuse organisation, Independent Choices, wants people’s views about domestic abuse problems and what services are needed.

The survey asks just nine questions and takes just 5 minutes. Join the survey here.
 

Please share the survey

Please circulate this to people you know in Greater Manchester, because they want as many people answering the survey as possible.
 

Findings

The survey results will be published and help develop and support high quality domestic violence support services for Greater Manchester region into 2011.
 

Copies of the finished report will be available by searching their website in January 2011.

Questions?

Questions about the survey to the research student, with the email heading ‘Research’  

 

What Needs HIV Research?

posted: 02/09/2010

A new UK HIV research charity is asking people with HIV what needs researching. The UK Foundation for AIDS Research is a member led charity, supporting research into improving the health and quality of life of people living with HIV.

What they research will be guided by people living with HIV. They will only fund and support robust science-based research, but people living with HIV will take the lead in deciding what gets investigated.

Interested in telling them what you think?

They invite people with HIV to help by completing their online survey

Join the Disability Benefits Survey

posted: 26/08/2010

We are keen to find out what people living with HIV think about how the benefits system works. The survey is organised by the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC), a network of different disability charities and campaigns, including NAT (National AIDS Trust). George House Trust supports the coalitions study.

Please take part in the survey here

Finding out about you and work, Employment Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Disability Living Allowance

The survey asks what you think about work, and if you have ever claimed Employment and Support Allowance – the new benefit for people who cannot work due to ill health or disability. It also asks about Housing Benefit and Disability Living Allowance.

The government is planning major changes to benefits, and already we know many people with HIV have serious problems with disability benefits. To campaign well for people living with HIV we need to know more about the experiences of people living with HIV, good and bad.
 

The survey ends on 20 October 2010. Take part in the survey in here please

If you have any questions about the survey or NAT's work on benefits, contact Sarah Radcliffe, NAT's Policy Officer 

Disability Benefits Consortium