Health , wellbeing and inclusion
Engaging harder-to-reach men who have sex with men to ensure their inclusion in Australia ’ s HIV response
The problem
Globally , 1.5 million people per year continue to be infected with HIV . Gay , bisexual and other men who have sex with men ( MSM ) have the highest risk of HIV infection , being 28 times more likely to become infected than the general population .
New technologies , particularly pre-exposure prophylaxis ( PrEP ) and antiretroviral drugs , have revolutionised HIV prevention in Australia . However , diagnoses have increased or failed to decline for some groups , notably overseas-born men , behaviourally bisexual men , and men less connected to gay networks .
Our solution
Engaging these harder-to-reach groups ensures Australia ’ s HIV response stays relevant to the rapidly changing HIV epidemic , says Professor Martin Holt from the UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health ( CSRH ). We need to better understand how they view and manage their HIV risk and sexual health to improve their health outcomes .
More on this story
Martin Holt researches HIV prevention , particularly for gay and bisexual men . He studies trends in sexual behaviour , and conducts social and behavioural research on HIV , sexual health and biomedical prevention methods .
His longitudinal project , Enhancing behavioural surveillance to address gaps and disparities in Australia ’ s HIV response in a changing HIV epidemic , builds on more than 20 years of CSRH ’ s behavioural surveillance in partnership with policymakers and community organisations . The Australian Gay Community Periodic Surveys and the Gay Asian Men ’ s Surveys will target suburban MSM and MSM from Southeast Asia , broadening recruitment and access to translations , to refine HIV policy and practice and sustain gains in prevention .
Additionally , its new national survey and in-depth interviews with bisexual and heterosexually identified MSM provide critical knowledge of their HIV-related behaviour and health literacy to inform HIV prevention and testing programs .
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