Men in Vancouver at higher risk of contracting HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) are being recruited to participate in a study that aims to identify ways to prevent the spread of these diseases.
Called Engage, the five-year study is the largest of its kind in Canada and is collecting information about the spread of HIV and STIs in the gay, bi, queer and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) communities in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. Findings will be used for disease prevention initiatives and could inform future health care policies.
“One of the challenges is that HIV treatment has made HIV a much less frightening illness” today, compared to 20 years ago, when a diagnosis was often seen as a death sentence, said study co-principal investigator Dr. David Moore. This, along with issues around mental health and substance use, could be leading to more liberal sexual behaviour among gbMSM, Moore said, and is something that Engage will examine.
To complete the Vancouver arm of the study, which launched within the past month, researchers are partnering with local community organizations, such as the Health Initiative for Men, Positive Living BC and YouthCO. A community engagement committee has also been formed that includes representatives from Engage and men from various gbMSM communities, such as trans men and men from different cultural backgrounds.
While gbMSM account for over 57 percent of new HIV diagnoses, according to a 2014 study by the BC Centre for Disease Control, the causes and behaviours behind the statistics are complex.
“Engage is trying to give us a better understanding of why we have not seen decreases in gbMSM that we’ve seen in other populations,” said Jody Jollimore, principal knowledge user with Engage and director of policy and provincial engagement with the Community Based Research Centre for Gay Men’s Health in Vancouver.
“This study enables us to increase our ability to get a handle on what the situation is.”
The largest Canadian study of its kind could lead to new treatment options for at-risk men