A number of local and national research projects gather data on same sex attracted men’s needs, health, and trends in sexual behaviour in order to make sure services which are provided by organisations like AIDS Councils are relevant and acceptable. Without this information it would be impossible to get a sense of what the broader population of men who have sex with men wants or needs.
A local example of the difference gathering information from the community makes can be seen in the WA AIDS Council’s (WAAC) ‘Sexual Health Testing Phone Survey’. This anonymous interview gives guys from WA the opportunity to talk about their positive, and not so positive, experiences of testing for HIV/STIs, and what type of testing services they would ideally like to be available to them.
Confidentiality, low cost or free services, shorter waiting periods, convenient locations, peer based services and after hours operating times have all been mentioned in the surveys conducted so far. However, the overwhelming focus of the interviews has been on the importance of feeling accepted and not looked down upon when testing for HIV/STIs. Every guy who has participated in the survey either likes their testing service because they feel accepted and connected to their health provider, or have complaints about a service because they felt judged.
As a consequence of the information gathered from the phone interviews WAAC has made a number of changes to their testing services. For example, the Monday clinic at Perth Steamworks is now free of charge, and an additional after hours clinic is now operating at the AIDS Council on Saturday mornings from 9am to 12.30pm.
The next step will be to gather more interviews and share the findings with other testing clinics and sexual health services. It is your stories that count, the things you like about services, the things you dislike, and what you would like to see available to you and your community in the way of HIV/STI testing. The personal information is of interest to us, and other sexual health services, and it really can make a difference in the day to day operations of a clinic. WAAC is still conducting phone surveys and urge you to call in on 9482 0000 or register on projectx.net.au
Another influential national survey launched recently is the PASH (Pleasure and Sexual Health) Study. This internet based survey looks at the way pleasure, desire, and what men want sexually interact with the decisions they make in a variety of sexual situations. The information gathered from all over Australia will help guide HIV prevention strategies to understand the decisions men are making about sex in the current climate of national increases in HIV infection, and improvements in HIV medication. It is very important that WA is represented in this study so please log on to www.pash-study.net and allow about 30 minutes to answer the questions.
Remember, your experiences and your voice can inform and help make a difference.
The Project X team,
WA AIDS Council
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